neighbour using house for business

MissMoneypenny

stef73 wrote: »

Are the cars on the road taxed and insured?

You can now check online for any cars tax and MOT status. You just need the registration numbers and vehicle make.

There is also a number to call if DVLA can't find a details match for that car.

https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/


I read about it on a site where a person was unhappy at how easy it is now for anyone to check that his free tax disc in being used in accordance with the DVLA terms. i.e.

The vehicle must either be used by yourself or by someone who only uses their vehicle to help you, for example getting prescriptions for you.
You won’t be able to get a free disabled tax disc if:

• the vehicle is not used directly for your purposes

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-for-disabled-people

SplanK

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

there are tax discs in them, but i wouldnt know if they are insured

you can check insurance status here:
http://www.askmid.com/


Please note, sometimes if the car has *JUST* been insured, it can take 24-48hrs to appear on the MID database... but combine that with the tax status.


Have you tried to discuss your grievance over the problem directly with the neighbour? Maybe because nobody has talked to him about the noise he is unaware that he is causing a disturbance or that by parking the cars where he is that he is causing an obstruction (although if they are correctly insured and taxed, then he can legally park the cars in front of your house if he so desired, as long as he is not causing an obstruction or parking dangerously). Sometimes going straight for the jugular (IE going to council) can cause more problems than its worth. I am all up for a sneeky "make some money on the side" and would turn a blind eye to some things, but there is a fine line between making a sneeky few quid and a full time job.

F_Bear

regarding insurance he'll prob have a 'traders policiy' meaning any car he has is covered. and they prob be taxed and mot'd if hes trying to sell them.

we had a kid doin this down our street many years ago and he kept everyone happy down the street by doing their mot work etc nice and cheap :-)

depends what type of guy he is regarding the noise. he shouldnt be working that late and if hes a nice guy a quiet word mite remind him.

if hes parking cars on a 40mph limit road the cars should have parking lights on. a £60 fine if they havnt ;-)

WeAreGhosts

thank you all for your advice

i have been so upset this morning. he keeps using a pressure washer and he has battered some of my plants that line the space between our driveways. he has also covered one of my windows in spray from it. it may not sound like much but i take a lot of pride in the house and keep the garden nice etc. the noise from it is horrendous also.

i have someone from planning at the council calling me back

re taking pictures. i dont need to. i have done some digging and found his company on social media and he takes pictures of the vehicles in his driveway so i am taking copies of those

he has registered the company at that address but in his girlfriends name. i dont know how this works re payment of tax and rates etc ..? she has her own full time job.

i have checked the tax and insurance via the links (thank you for those) and they are fine.

at the moment he has 2 massive transit vans and a car. the car and one van on the road and he is working on another van in the driveway. we cannot see out of our driveway so we are swinging out blind onto a fast road.

he has been spoken to about the situation. he said he is looking for an industrial unit. that was 2 months ago and i have found plenty in the area that are cheap that he could use. i do not think he has any intention of forking out for a unit. the house he is renting has a double garage and he has lined it with selves etc. it looks like a proper workshop and he did that as soon as he moved in.
he says he knows it is noisy and he will try and keep the noise down. but nothing changes.
there were two people last night came to look at the van and parked right over our drive - this was at 8.15 and 10.30 cos he has got a sign on the van people just stop at any time and look at it.


and he is now drilling/sawing and that will be it for the rest of the day. no chance of me enjoying my garden. so i am having to go out. cannot stand it any more

atolaas

As a general rule people who rent their home aren't allowed to run a business from it. There is a clause in a standard contract that forbids it. If he's registered his business at his girlfriend's address and she owns her home he could be using this to effectively "dodge" that clause in his contract. I hope you managed to get the situation resolved quickly.

WeAreGhosts

hi, no the GF lives with him at the address next door

landlord isnt interested though, i guess he is the only one who enforces the contract

planning_officer

Hope you get some help from the planning dept - that's definitely the right avenue to pursue this under, as it sounds like it is highly likely to require planning permission. As an ex-enforcement officer for a Council, this kind of work nearly always requires planning permission (and to be honest, is rarely granted PP, due to the disturbance it causes to neighbours).

To answer some other queries above, planning permission is not automatically required for all home working. It is only when the nature of the business becomes in excess of what you might expect at a normal residential house. For example, a hairdresser or counsellor seeing only one person a day and just using one room in the house is unlikely to result in any more traffic or disturbance than a normal house, so PP would probably not be required. In contrast, someone working on cars all day long, or washing them, is likely to generate noise and disturbance, and excessive vehicle movements, beyond what you would normally expect at a normal residential dwelling. As such a material change of use has occurred (that's the reference to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which defines 'development' for which planning permission is required - including a material change of use).

WeAreGhosts

thanks planning_officer. the problem is now listed on the enforcement register.
can i ask, how do the enforcement officers go about compiling evidence of this breach? do they write a letter first, do they just turn up? etc. i assume they will do more than just take a person's word if the tenant says that working on a vehicle is "just a hobby"?

cyclonebri1

Poppycat wrote: »

If he is running a business from home ie doing cars to sell surely he also needs business insurance and or pay business rates. If you feel strong about it report him to the council

You beat me to that 1, £ to a penny he won't.

Gas welding equipment? etc.

planning_officer

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

thanks planning_officer. the problem is now listed on the enforcement register.
can i ask, how do the enforcement officers go about compiling evidence of this breach? do they write a letter first, do they just turn up? etc. i assume they will do more than just take a person's word if the tenant says that working on a vehicle is "just a hobby"?

They'll probably just turn up - if he says it's all for a hobby, then they will probably require evidence of that. The enforcement officers can easily take down registration numbers of cars there and check them with the DVLA to see if they're registered elsewhere, which is a good indication it's more than a hobby.

Even if it turns out to be a hobby, and he's repairing other people's cars, it still may well require planning permission - it doesn't have to be for a business. Any noisy activity that changes the nature of a residential dwelling can still require planning permission.