A question about planning permission, parking and tenancy

rav007

I don't know if this is the right place for the thread but I am in need of advice.

I am a student, I agreed to a contract with some private accommodation who has private parking which is restricted and I accepted this. There was no clause in my contract about vehicles being prohibited, but there are 2 clauses saying no on-site parking and I am not allowed to seek a permit for public parking.

Based on this I checked the local area for restrictions on parking and there were none so I renewed my car insurance for a heft £600 and brought my car here to park in a residential area around 200m from where I live. The car is parked legally as per the DVLA standards and Highway code, no yellow lines no restrictions, enough access for elderly, push-chairs and wheelchairs on the path, enough access for a truck on the road.

However, since day 3 the locals have complained consistently to myself, my accommodation, the council, saying that people who live where I am living are not allowed to park on the public road or even have a car - as I said before this was not highlighted in my tenancy agreement. So it has escalated, I sent some letters to the MP and local council explaining my legal situation, and the MP emailed me saying that the accommodation was built with a clause that tenants are not allowed to have a car. Again, not specified in my agreement.

I have scoured every bit of legal information I can find and this has escalated to the point that I have been summoned to a meeting on Thursday 23rd with my landlord, the people who people who own the chain of accommodation, the council, etc and there has been talks from the council to evict tenants with cars who are still parking.

I can't see how I am in the wrong here, my tenancy agreement was also changed without my knowledge to satisfy some regulations and I did not agree to these changes, they were done so without my knowledge. Can someone give me some advice on my legal position? I signed a contract based on me having my car as I need it, I live 150 miles away and I have graduate job interviews all the time, it cuts my costs, I dont see how anything I am doing is illegal or in breach.

Further I came across this a document circular 11/95 Use of Conditions in Planning Permission, which seems to outline the planning permission powers and restrictions, no mention of if a local authority is even legally allowed to say "you can only build this accommodation if you agree that tenants cannot bring their cars", fairly sure this is not even legal based on the documents I have read. Can someone clarify if this is legal, and can I take legal action against those harassing me and leaving notes on my car to move it otherwise "further action" will be taken and those from the council threatening eviction?

Thanks
Ravi

marliepanda

I'm a little confused.

You say it has 'restricted private parking' does this mean no parking or a private car park you personally do not have access to.

You also say it said you cannot park on site.

And then you say you then decided to park on site.

You were clearly made aware of the restrictions as you mention them.

rav007

marliepanda wrote: »

I'm a little confused.

You say it has 'restricted private parking' does this mean no parking or a private car park you personally do not have access to.

You also say it said you cannot park on site.

And then you say you then decided to park on site.

You were clearly made aware of the restrictions as you mention them.

I apologise, I did write it in haste as I also have exams to revise for. To clarify:

Accommodation - private land with private car park which is restricted so only land-lord, maintenance guy and delivery people can park here. I do not park here and never have, this is clear in my tenancy agreement and I am not in breach of this.

Local area - there are no parking restrictions in the local area outside of my accommodation, it is sparsely populated and there are plenty of places to legally park as per parking rules and regs (no lines, no markings, no signs) this is where I have been parking, thus not requiring a permit and therefore not in breach of the only other clause related to vehicles and parking on my contract: "do not seek local parking permits".

Legally I did nothing wrong, but apparently the planning permission was given for this building with the express condition that no cars will be allowed, but this was not a stipulation in my contract that I signed and further, every legal documentation I read on the topic seems to imply that planning permission has to consider where the tenants will park but nothing says that local authorities can impose that type of restriction on accommodation.

So what I want to know is that seen as I have not breached my contract, is it possible for the local authority to threaten me with eviction? If this is not in my contract and I was never told, can action be taken against me for it? And has the local authority breached their power by imposing a "no cars allowed" restriction on the accommodation?

dm20

Sounds like a section 106 'car free' agreement. Not an expert, but I recall they extend to preventing, as your landlord says, private parking on-site and entitlement to a resident's parking permit. So only really effective within a controlled parking zone where residents need permits.

People who live in your flats who own cars clearly have to put them somewhere, and can park them on a road without parking controls the same as anyone else.

Perhaps see if you can found out what the planning permission actually says on you local council's planning website?

bris

A restrictive covenant basically, legal to park yes but against the covenant so action can be taken if the person who holds the covenant or people directly affected by it choose to do so.

Eviction is likely, but you may have a case against the LL if there is something in the lease that states your allowed to park there. Wont stop the eviction but may get you recompense for having to move.

marliepanda

OP states his contract says 'no onsite parking'

Looks as though you thought you could circumvent the covenant as there wasn't a parking restriction you could see.

This is why I don't understand it. OP seems to have known there were these parking restrictions...

wealdroam

marliepanda wrote: »

OP states his contract says 'no onsite parking'

Oh, I thought the OP was saying he knew he wasn't allowed to park on-site so found a street nearby, i.e. off-site, where there were no parking restrictions, so would not need to get a permit, and would therefore remain within the terms of the letting agreement.

marliepanda

I'm getting very confused by it.

Is it even possible to have a covenant that people cannot have cars?

And what would be the point of banning parking if that meant they'd just park on other residential streets? Surely that's just creating problems elsewhere.

Definitely mixed up.

wealdroam

marliepanda wrote: »

Is it even possible to have a covenant that people cannot have cars?

I think that really is the question the OP is, or should be, asking.

I don't know the answer to that, but it does seem unreasonable.

rav007

I feel as though I am still being misunderstood unless this is a "read between the lines" situation which seems unreasonable given that a contract should be clear as far as I am concerned.

I have NOT parked on site at my accommodation but the contract does NOT say or imply "you cannot park on a public road" and the contract does NOT say or imply "you cannot bring a vehicle" thus ONLY implying if you want to bring a vehicle you cant park on the private land owned by the accommodation i.e. on-site. I checked the local residential area OFF-site for parking restrictions, which there were none, it is perfectly legal for any vehicle to park as long as they adhere to the highway code. I did not see an issue to bring my car as long as I didnt park at my accommodation and parked legally on a public road in the local residential area, my contract did not state I am not allowed to do this! I can't understand how that is confusing?

How can I be evicted by the council when I am not in breach of the tenancy agreement that I signed, and I am not in breach of the law as I am legally parked on a public road? I seriously thought this would be an easy question to answer, you all likely have more experience than I do in this field.

I am currently looking for the planning permissions but looks like I have to pay to see them, I will wait for my landlord to see if I can obtain a copy.

marliepanda

wealdroam wrote: »

I think that really is the question the OP is, or should be, asking.

I don't know the answer to that, but it does seem unreasonable.

Thinking about it thought they can have no pets covenants, laminate floor covenants, so I suppose why is a car different to any of those other things. (More useful and 'necessary' I suppose, but still.)