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Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal, Volume 11, William & Mary Law School

Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal

The Role of Empirical Research

September 30-October 1, 2021

Panel 1: The Role of Empirical Research in Defining the Scope of Constitutionally Protected Property Rights: A Tribute to Been

Panel 2: The Relationship Between Eminent Domain and Social and Racial Injustice

Panel 3: The Interdependence of Property and First Amendment Rights

Panel 4: The Distributional Implications of Land Use Regulation

Stale Real Estate Convenants, Robert C. Ellickson

William & Mary Law Review

Since the 1970s, covenants running with the land have tethered a large majority of the new housing units produced in the United States. These private restraints usually continue for generations, until a majority or supermajority of covenant beneficiaries affirmatively vote to amend or terminate them. Covenants interact with public land use controls, particularly zoning ordinances. Zoning politics tends to freeze land uses in urban America, particularly in existing neighborhoods of single-family homes. This Article investigates to what extent covenants exacerbate the zoning freeze. It provides a history of the use of private covenants and suggests how drafters, judges, and legislators …