Living in a caravan on own land... Planning?

blackrandomapple

Hello MSE members

Im hoping someone here will be able to advise me on this:

I will keep it brief but here are the fact!

I would like to live in a caravan on land owned by myself so i have somewhere to live when my current house is sold thus giving me time to find another house.

I own a fairly large piece of residential land in a village with an old condemned currently situated (not listed)
the land has no services attached
the land doesnt currently have any planning permissions

i do not intend on building on the land anytime soon

i simply would like to live in a caravan on this land for however long it takes for me to buy another home

i intend living completely off grid


Is this possible?
would i need planning?
could i get planning?

is there a loop hole ie: for security purposes?


i will add that one neighbor will more than likely kick up a fuss so i need to get this right:)

my next step is contacting the council but i would like all the info i can get before doing so!



Many thanks

James

Davesnave

The '28 day rule' allows you to live in a caravan/tent/whatever on your own land for that number of days in a year. Any longer than that and you're in breach of planning law.

The above is perhaps what the council will tell you, but the reality is that nothing's likely to happen for some time after the breach occurs. Your problem is that none of us can tell you how long that will be.

blackrandomapple

Davesnave wrote: »

The '28 day rule' allows you to live in a caravan/tent/whatever on your own land for that number of days in a year. Any longer than that and you're in breach of planning law.

The above is perhaps what the council will tell you, but the reality is that nothing's likely to happen for some time after the breach occurs. Your problem is that none of us can tell you how long that will be.

Muchos thanks for your reply.

I wasn't aware of this 28 day rule so already ive learned something

I wouldn't really want to do anything that wasn't above board, i would be happy to apply for whatever planning was need if there is such a thing?

sevenhills

blackrandomapple wrote: »

I own a fairly large piece of residential land in a village with an old condemned house?currently situated (not listed)
the land has no services attached
the land doesnt currently have any planning permissions

James

A caravan may be parked on the drive or in the garden of a dwelling, provided it is being used as though it were part of the house (like an extra bedroom) by members of the immediate family or by friends occasionally. It cannot be used as a separate dwelling or hired out (eg. for holidays).

blackrandomapple

sevenhills wrote: »

A caravan may be parked on the drive or in the garden of a dwelling, provided it is being used as though it were part of the house (like an extra bedroom) by members of the immediate family or by friends occasionally. It cannot be used as a separate dwelling or hired out (eg. for holidays).

Ive learned this already, the only issue is there is not house... The cottage on the land is condemned.

Im wondering if because of that the caravan could become the ONLY dwelling on the land.. Is that worth a thought? It is a residential plot after all!

prowla

I thought that one way of converting land to make it so you can build on it was t live in a caravan there.

Davesnave

prowla wrote: »

I thought that one way of converting land to make it so you can build on it was t live in a caravan there.

No, or more people would be doing it than there are already.

Successfully living in a caravan, even for years, confers no extra status on the land it occupies. We had people living in mobile homes in their own field by our village boundary for 10 years, but they were eventually evicted and their land was seized to offset the costs involved and clearing-up the site.

However, that highlights the fact that people get away with squatting on their own land for considerable lengths of time. If they build a permanent structure and live in it successfully for 4 years, without eviction, then it could become a lawful development. An illegal permanent dwelling is usually dealt with more swiftly for that reason. We have the recent case of the 'Mud Hut Couple' in this area as an example:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/couple-face-eviction-hobbit-style-9935195

Davesnave

blackrandomapple wrote: »

Im wondering if because of that the caravan could become the ONLY dwelling on the land.. Is that worth a thought? It is a residential plot after all!

It could gain temporary planning permission if you were living in it while refurbishing the cottage, but that would also need planning permission and the work would be required to meet building regulations.


Basically, our planning laws are there to discourage random building and the erection of shanty towns, badly made or using sub-standard materials and practices. The existence of Jaywick in Essex is an example of what might happen if laws were relaxed.

sevenhills

blackrandomapple wrote: »

Ive learned this already, the only issue is there is not house... The cottage on the land is condemned.

Im wondering if because of that the caravan could become the ONLY dwelling on the land.. Is that worth a thought? It is a residential plot after all!

People often live in caravans whilst their house is being renovated. It sounds like you don't want to chance it being ok, but most would.

GDB2222

No services, so every litre of water you use will have to be carried in? How is that off grid? Where will your waste water go?

Do you already own the caravan? Otherwise, buying one is a bit of a gamble.

How about renovating the cottage yourself and living in the caravan while doing so. It may be more acceptable to the local authorities, especially if the cottage is an eyesore.

LandyAndy

Davesnave wrote: »

No, or more people would be doing it than there are already.

Successfully living in a caravan, even for years, confers no extra status on the land it occupies. We had people living in mobile homes in their own field by our village boundary for 10 years, but they were eventually evicted and their land was seized to offset the costs involved and clearing-up the site.

However, that highlights the fact that people get away with squatting on their own land for considerable lengths of time. If they build a permanent structure and live in it successfully for 4 years, without eviction, then it could become a lawful development. An illegal permanent dwelling is usually dealt with more swiftly for that reason. We have the recent case of the 'Mud Hut Couple' in this area as an example:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/couple-face-eviction-hobbit-style-9935195

In our town someone set up a smallholding on land on the outskirts and lived there in a caravan for about two years before they were finally removed. TBH they didn't appear to be doing any harm.