We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Neighbour operating business from driveway

Hi 

So new neighbour moved in and he has basically done up his drive and created a mini show room for cars. So he has 6 cars parked there and has customers coming at different times of the day. Some of these customers stand on our drive.

Is this legal for them to have a business on the drive? And obviously could be dispute with customers on our drive
«13

Comments

  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,020 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    F37A said:
    Hi 

    So new neighbour moved in and he has basically done up his drive and created a mini show room for cars. So he has 6 cars parked there and has customers coming at different times of the day. Some of these customers stand on our drive.

    Is this legal for them to have a business on the drive? And obviously could be dispute with customers on our drive
    Call and ask your local
    planning office, they'll make that decision for you! 😉
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 17,231 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    May well be in breach of local planning laws and would invite commercial council tax rates. HMRC might also take an interest if the earnings are not being declared.
    Her courage will change the world.

    Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.
  • Rosa_Damascena
    Rosa_Damascena Posts: 6,764 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    This situation does not bode well for neighbourly relations.

    But then he started it.
    No man is worth crawling on this earth.

    So much to read, so little time.
  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 6,804 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Worth dealing with it now.
    We had someone start a car reclaim business even though the deeds said no commercial business.
    Once done it was sold as business premises with associated traffic, noise and parking problems.

    I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!

    viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on

    The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well


  • Jeepers_Creepers
    Jeepers_Creepers Posts: 4,339 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 23 July 2021 at 9:57AM
    F37A, how long has your neighb lived there? For how long have they been selling cars from there? Are they a registered business? Do you know how/where he advertises them? Have you seen an advert - does he acknowledge he's a 'trader'?
    And are any other neighbours affected by this?
    What to do? Try and get answers to the above, so you can also hopefully tackle it from a legal 'trading' point, as well as a possible breach of his house covenants.
    The following is based on surfs, so you'd need to carry out your own research to confirm...
    Oh, do you have LegProt on your house insurance? Cool, call them up for advice and they'll tell you what you need to do. If action is required, they'll hopefully take it on too.

    This needs sorting quickly, because if he gets away with this for a year without challenge, he may be able to take out an indemnity policy to protect him afterwards, or if he sells. "If you own a property and unknowingly (or otherwise) breach a restrictive covenant then you could be forced to undo any offending work (such as having to pull down an extension), pay a fee (often running into thousands of pounds) or even face legal action. In cases where an owner has breached a covenant for over 12 months without challenge and subsequently decides to sell the property, they should be able to get restrictive covenant insurance to protect what they have done."

    1st step, download a copy of his deeds from the Land Registry. Turn to "Section C headed 'Charges Register' and see what it says. Restrictive covenants should be listed there"
    What sort of covenants could help you here? 'Not to cause a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours', probably, and obviously, 'not to use the property for any trade or business'. Possibly others that may restrict the use of the land in front of the property - go through them with a fine-toothed.

    Based on the info you gather, I suggest you tackle him on as many fronts as you can at the same time, ideally with other neighbours doing the same - use 2'penny's example as a warning - do they want a permanent motor trade business on their doorstep?
    If he is not registered as a 'trader', then he is breaking the law. Report him to the LA's Tradings Standards - they frown heavily on this - as well as a 'letter before action' concerning his breach of his covenants. Your LP will guide you on all this.

    Yes, this is horrible, and yes it likely will become messy. But don't lose sight that HE is the 'ole here, HE is the one almost certainly doing wrong, HE has shown consideration towards his neighbs, and - if you don't sort it - it's almost certainly going to be a massive thorn in your side, and permanently affect the quality of your life in what should be  a residential road.
    Matter-of-fact. He's done wrong. "What did you expect?!!"


  • F37A
    F37A Posts: 333 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    So he has only just started business. Been a couple months. 

    My concern is that the people may become very intimidating very quickly if dispute occurs.
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 25,716 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    F37A said:
    So he has only just started business. Been a couple months. 

    My concern is that the people may become very intimidating very quickly if dispute occurs.
    Can you put a fence up, separating your driveway from your neighbour's?  At least, that would keep his customers on his land.

    I think that the simplest approach is to speak to your local councillor about this. The council has a planning enforcement team that can prevent the neighbour from doing this. There's no reason why your name should be brought up.

    After a few years, if unchallenged by the planning dept, the existing usage becomes established, and at that point it may become more intensive. You really need to avoid that happening,


    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • F37A
    F37A Posts: 333 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    That's a good suggestion and something we will look at. I am actually thinking the business  could make the sale of our house less attractive if persists. Imagine if having viewings and got 6-10 people viewing cars on your drive.

  • F37A said:
    So he has only just started business. Been a couple months. 

    My concern is that the people may become very intimidating very quickly if dispute occurs.

    That could happen. Or they might just not be that way inclined. I guess, at the very least, they'll be cheesed off, but they are the cause of this and that's their problem.
    It's either a case of you do something, or you don't.
    If you choose the former, then do it decisively and with conviction. If you do suspect they will turn aggressive or intimidating, then take mitigating action - have a witness with you should you ever approach them, and/or have you phone set to record before you do.
    Or, fit CCTV that'll cover an area of your frontage where you would be during any conversation - or them trying anything on on your land.
    Again - do you have LP on your house insurance? What do they suggest? And are any other neighbours also cheesed off about this?
    Once/if you decide to act, adopt a mantra; "What did you expect?!" "This is a residential area and the covenants are clear. They are for us all to follow for everyone's benefit, and not for a few to abuse at the expense of the rest."

  • F37A
    F37A Posts: 333 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    F37A said:
    So he has only just started business. Been a couple months. 

    My concern is that the people may become very intimidating very quickly if dispute occurs.

    That could happen. Or they might just not be that way inclined. I guess, at the very least, they'll be cheesed off, but they are the cause of this and that's their problem.
    It's either a case of you do something, or you don't.
    If you choose the former, then do it decisively and with conviction. If you do suspect they will turn aggressive or intimidating, then take mitigating action - have a witness with you should you ever approach them, and/or have you phone set to record before you do.
    Or, fit CCTV that'll cover an area of your frontage where you would be during any conversation - or them trying anything on on your land.
    Again - do you have LP on your house insurance? What do they suggest? And are any other neighbours also cheesed off about this?
    Once/if you decide to act, adopt a mantra; "What did you expect?!" "This is a residential area and the covenants are clear. They are for us all to follow for everyone's benefit, and not for a few to abuse at the expense of the rest."

    Thanks for your help. We need to do some investigations and gather some info including that insurance point. 
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.