Part 7: Conservation Covenants Section 131: Power of responsible body to appoint replacement
Subsection (1) enables the responsible body under a conservation covenant ("the appointor") to transfer both the benefit and the burden of its obligations to another responsible body ("the appointee") by appointing it the responsible body under the covenant by agreement executed as a deed by the appointor and appointee (subsection (2)). A conservation covenant can exclude the power to do this.
	Subsection (3) provides that where the conservation covenant has been registered as a local land charge, the transfer to the appointee only has effect if the appointor gives to the Chief Land Registrar (or, by virtue of subsection (4)(a), in the case of land in an area in relation to which section 3 of the Local Land Charges Act 1975 (as substituted by paragraph 3 of Schedule 5 to the Infrastructure Act 2015) has not yet taken effect, the authority responsible for the appropriate local land charges register) sufficient information to enable the Registrar (or appropriate authority) to amend the register, as they are required to do by rule 8(2) of the Local Land Charges Rules 1977. In the case of a conservation covenant relating to land in an area in relation to which section 3 of the Local Land Charges Act 1975 has not yet taken effect, subsection (3) does not apply where the appointor is itself the registering authority (which may be the case where the responsible body is a local authority: subsection (4)(b)).
	Subsection (5) describes the effect of the appointment. It transfers to the appointee the benefit of every obligation of the landowner under the conservation covenant and the burden of every obligation of the responsible body. This is subject to the qualification in subsection (6) that the transfer of a conservation covenant does not transfer to the appointee any rights or liabilities in respect of an existing breach of an obligation under the conservation covenant. It only has effect in relation to future performance. The appointee cannot take, or continue, enforcement action in respect of a breach which pre-dates the transfer. If the breach is a continuing one the appointee may be able to take enforcement action in respect of the continuing breach after the transfer.
	Subsection (7) requires the appointee to give notice of its appointment to every person who is bound by an obligation of the landowner under a conservation covenant.