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Property OwnershipRecording_and_torrens_systemMEDIUM

David is a Minnesota real estate licensee helping a client sell a property in Anoka County. During the transaction, the title company discovers that the property is abstract land and that a prior owner recorded a restrictive covenant limiting the property to single-family residential use. The covenant was recorded 35 years ago. Under Minnesota's abstract recording system, what is the effect of this recorded covenant on the current sale?

Correct Answer

B) The covenant runs with the land and is binding on subsequent owners because it was properly recorded, providing constructive notice to all buyers

Under Minnesota's recording act (Minn. Stat. Ch. 507), a properly recorded restrictive covenant that runs with the land is binding on all subsequent owners who take title with constructive notice of it. Recording the covenant in the county recorder's office provides constructive notice to all subsequent purchasers. Restrictive covenants that run with the land attach to the property itself, not just to the original parties, and remain enforceable unless specifically released or extinguished.

Answer Options
A
The covenant is unenforceable because it has exceeded the 30-year maximum duration for restrictive covenants under Minnesota law
B
The covenant runs with the land and is binding on subsequent owners because it was properly recorded, providing constructive notice to all buyers
C
The covenant is unenforceable against the current seller because they were not a party to the original agreement that created it
D
The covenant is automatically extinguished upon sale because Minnesota law requires restrictive covenants to be re-recorded at each transfer of title

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

restrictive_covenantrecording_actconstructive_noticeruns_with_landabstract_systemminn_stat_ch_507

Related Concepts

Real property is immovable land and anything permanently attached to it, while personal property (also called chattels) is movable.

Tenancy by the entirety is a form of co-ownership available only to married couples that includes the right of survivorship and protection from individual creditors. Neither spouse can unilaterally sell or encumber the property.

Tenancy in common is a form of co-ownership in which two or more persons hold separate, undivided interests in property without the right of survivorship. Each owner can hold unequal shares and can independently transfer their interest.

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