Caravan on driveway
We are thinking of moving house. The ideal property would have a driveway for possibly storing the caravan. Do you need to apply to keep a caravan on your driveway? Can neighbours object and stop it happening?
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I don't think you need to apply specifically to do this but it would be a good idea to ask your suveyor/solicitor to see if there any restricted covenants attached to the property. This normally applies to new builds but can also apply for some years after a development. As far as the neighbours are concerned, they could only object if there was such a restriction but I think it would be er ..... neighbourly to chat to them about it first.
Lots of folk do keep the van on their drive; we don't. A family member and ex caravanner and police officer pointed out to us years ago that it can be an open invitation to anyone spotting when the van is not on the drive that the house may be unoccupied.
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You need to find out if the property you choose has any restrictive covenants applied to it. These usually detail what can and cannot be kept on a driveway or garden, and might include Caravan, MH, big works vans etc..... Sometimes the are only for a specific period (new build estates usually have them as the build companies like to present twee tidy views to prospective buyers) others may be permanent. You might be able to find out from LA of any active covenants, but a decent legal advisor looking after your house move should find this out for you.
Thats the legal requirement. You will need to be a considerate neighbour as well, and not block sunlight, create a driving hazard, but you will only find that out by finding a property you like, looking around and getting a general feel for the area. Anyone selling a house has to declare if they have ever had a dispute with a neighbour as far as I am aware, so it pays to get on reasonably in the long term.
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We have a covenant on our house that says we can keep a pig, but not kill it on site! 🐖🐖 😁
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If there is a restriction in the deeds to the property, then it would be very wise to ask the local authority planning dept if it has to be strictly observed.
However, if the caravan will be positioned forward of the building line of the front of the property, and/or it can justifiably be claimed that it blocks light from a neighbour's windows, then you could definitely be on dodgy ground. Even if the council initially gave the OK, they could change their minds if a neighbour satisfactorily showed that the presence of a caravan was detrimental to the enjoyment of their property.
Our caravan is situated between house and garage, and is behind high gates. Yet, a few years ago, the neighbour on the other side of our house, and who cannot see the caravan from any position on their property, raised questions as to why we needed to store a caravan there.
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There can be restrictions set by the local authority but this is rare. You can also have these which would have to be in favour of one or more parties, These are only enforceable by the parties named and your solicitor will, or should check if there are any and tell you.
The most common on modern properties are by the developer who wants to prevent this or other things happening that they feel might give them problems in selling other properties there. Once they have finished then in most cases they have no interest in what happens and therefore the restriction effectively dies.
What can happen, is a neighbour objects and tries to use the restriction, but as it does not protect them, they cannot enforce it.
Do take your solicitors advice though.
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Bit incongruous when you think about it as a MH is generally taller but, as it's a vehicle, any restriction would not apply, no matter how much it impeded a neighbour.
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Restrictions by developers sometimes have a time limit, and sometimes they do not. Where there isn't a time limit, different council authorities can themselves decide anything from a 'reasonable period' to never.
Discussing it with your solicitor is not a bad thing, but he/she cannot dictate a council's policy, so obtaining advice directly from the council, and getting it in writing, is the safest course of action. Who wants to take any risk of being told to move a caravan out and have nowhere to put it?
Our neighbour and his family have several cars, and they were not fussy about widening their drive by encroaching on ours. So I built a sturdy fence, getting advice from the planning dept first. From comments I have heard, I strongly suspect they explored the chances of getting my fence removed.
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It's such a general question I doubt whether there is any easy answer. Do you intend buying an existing house or a new build? If it's new is it a large scale development or a more modest one. There are different types of covenants. Some may say its OK if the caravan is stored within the Curtilage of the building, this is usually defined as within an enclosed garden so won't apply to open space in front of a building like a drive or an open plan front garden. This was how it applied to our house when we purchased it 40 years ago and we are lucky enough to be able to store our motorhome (and previous caravans) in our enclosed back garden. Not everyone is lucky enough to have access to their back garden. With covenants another thing you have to watch is who is responsible for them. Most often it's the builder whose interest in enforcing it may well wain over the years! However if it is transferred to the Local Council you will encounter a stricter approach to enforcement. At the end of the day, even without a covenant, it depends on how much you value a good relationship with your immediate neighbours. At the very least it might be an idea to discuss it with them?
David
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David, it's an existing house. Thanks for your helpful answers all. I will certainly talk to my new neighbours as opposed to getting off on the wrong foot.
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Neighbours can move and change, so you need to be legally sound right from the start.
Another example of covenant restrictions, my parents home had a restriction that they weren't allowed to plant a tree in the front garden, for the first ten years.
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Our house had the most ridiculous restrictive covenants placed on it at time of build - garage not to be used for anything other than the storage of a motor vehicle - no petrochemicals to be stored in garage other than in that motor vehicle - no caravans on drive - and best of all - no washing of cars on the drive - supposedly to prevent pollution entering Hornsea Mere.
That was over 20 years ago and since the covenants are only enforceable by the person imposing them (the builder) and they have since long gone bust - been bought out - gone bust again, there's no chance of the covenants being imposed,
My garage and that of my neighbour are both woodworking 'workshops', everyone washes their cars on the drive and there must be at least 8 or 10 caravans / motorhomes in the immediate vicinity, including ours.
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There is a lot of misleading information being given above (and some correct). Enforcement of legal covenants has absolutely nothing to do with the local authority unless they imposed them. Enforcement of planning conditions and breaches of conditions can be enforced by the Local Planning Authority assuming they have the resources and deem it sufficiently serious. A legal covenant which restricts parking is almost unenforceable, in practice who can enforce it? MM gives an excellent example and not uncommon situation. And, they can often be removed. A restriction on vehicle washing is almost certainly a condition imposed by the local river or drainage authority to prevent chemical pollution of surface water disposal and discharge into watercourses. It is nothing to do with the developer not putting in drains and land drains are for draining land.... however enforcing it is another matter. In Germany car washing outside your house is now totally verboten.
So, for caravan parking i would personally just do it although i would have a back up plan just in case. (My guess is if caravan parking is not allowed there will be other restrictions too, such as enclosing front gardens). So, I would also check out for any neighbours breaching covenants too.
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I keep my caravan on. Our double drive in front of garage, talked to neighbors first no objections in fact they all come round to look in it when we buy a new one.
It does not extend over pavement or cause any light obstruction, we had one chap object though he lives at the far end of site and cannot see my house never mind the caravan but there is always one,I suggested he not to walk past my house if it upset him.
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Hopefully johndailey your neighbours will be amiable about you having a caravan at your new home. Like moulsey we store our caravan away from home because of this ‘unoccupied’ look. Some friends of ours had their house broken into twice when they were away with their caravan. When we bought our first one we were lucky enough to be able get it out of sight in the back garden but this property we have no chance, hence we store it. If family etc were closer we may risk it but as they aren’t we feel happier storing away from home.
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we have a simple soloution, parking is always a problem in our close as some folks have 3 or 4 cars, so we just invite the neighbours to park on our drives and hard standing when we are away, thought about charging them but thought that might be a bit cheeky.
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Retired warden friends of ours have told us that by storing your caravan on the house drive is, in some areas , open invitation when not there for lowlifes to break in they had several members having to cut stays short as their house had been broken into,and the local heroes are "aware" of the other vehicle parked as a decoy as they will have looked several times before the house being a Target
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We have four vehicles, so our home never looks unoccupied. Plus we have watchful neighbours and family who happily call in and make sure all is ok every day. As we quite often holiday without the MH or caravan, most passers by are deeply confused, especially as there are lights and music on and off at various timings.😁
The postman is well trained as well😂
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didnt say it would stop the lowlifes breaking in, but there again neither would a couple of rottweilers, but it is a deterant. Heard lots of horror stories re caravans/MH's being stolen set on fire or broken into even on supposedly secure storage sites. We can only do what we think necessary, if that is not enough, just hope we have sufficient insurance to cover any eventuality.
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