PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.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.
Caravan on driveway
Comments
-
ThisIsWeird said:Although these restrictive covenants are very common, it does require someone to be bothered to enforce them. And I understand the only person who can do this is the author.
In mil's case, that was the builder, Persimmons, and this particular incident took place more than 15 years after they'd completed the estate. Tbh, I suspect they no longer would be bothered, as it was most likely included in order to keep the estate tidy until they'd sold them all... It was pure peer pressure that obliged this particular person to capitulate. I suspect they could actually have ignored all requests.
In the OP's case, the HA is presumably actively running the estate on a day to day basis. And can presumably also enforce the rs. Presumably. What if the HA is not the author? I dunno.Enforcement can be by anyone the covenant grants that power to, it isn't limited to the 'author'.There's a world of difference between covenants imposed by a developer to keep their development 'nice' while marketing it, and covenants imposed by historic landowners and/or councils/housing associations. The latter impose covenants to make it easier to take action against (future) owners who don't do the things expected of them (e.g. maintaining a boundary feature) on an ongoing basis.If this issue was one where the OP had purchased the property from a council or HA then a covenant forbidding the parking of caravans on the (front) driveway would be more of an issue than a similar case where a private developer packed up and left the site 15 years ago.1 -
ggtazzy said:The tenancy agreement says ask for permission it does not say no you cannot The driveway is irrelevant all permission was given curb is dropped all done by a professional contractor with liability insurance who registered with my local council so the driveway is irrelevant. Now can anyone answer the questions I actually asked please.It was very relevant because if you didn't have consent to build the driveway in the first place, consent to park a caravan on it would be that much harder to obtain. It is also quite unusual for a council/housing association to give permission for tenants to make major alterations (such as building a driveway) themselves - typically they want to do the work themselves to make sure it is done to the correct standard and with all the right permissions....hence people quite reasonably asking the right questions to you before giving answers.The legality of the driveway is quite important in working out whether it is a good idea to do something else (e.g. parking a caravan on it) which might annoy the neighbours. If the driveway hadn't been 'legal' then given the possibility of enforcement action it might have been prudent not to do somethign that would give neighbours cause to complain.As it is, you probably just need to ask the housing association for permission to park the caravan there. They may want some form of agreement - possibily a new tenancy agreement - restricting the size of the caravan and/or prohibiting it being occupied while parked on the driveway.1
-
I can't see that the OP has indicated how large the caravan would be. It may make a difference as "caravan" can vary enormously in size and visual burden.
Also, will the OP keep the caravan under a cover or open to the elements? That may seem an irrelevant question but I ask just in case any part of the reasoning for the rule is to prevent a "caravan" becoming effectively and extension to the house and used as a bedroom, or a work-from-home space.
May be worth reading the rule again and looking for any context. Obviously, if the rule simply says "no caravans" then context is irrelevant.0 -
ThisIsWeird said:
In the OP's case, the HA is presumably actively running the estate on a day to day basis. And can presumably also enforce the rs. Presumably. What if the HA is not the author? I dunno.These days most estates are mixed, private/social housing. Which is the type of estate that I live on and there is a caravan in one of the gardens.It's quite a large garden, so as long as the OPs caravan doesnt massively block anyone's view, it should be ok.
0 -
sevenhills said:ThisIsWeird said:
In the OP's case, the HA is presumably actively running the estate on a day to day basis. And can presumably also enforce the rs. Presumably. What if the HA is not the author? I dunno.These days most estates are mixed, private/social housing. Which is the type of estate that I live on and there is a caravan in one of the gardens.It's quite a large garden, so as long as the OPs caravan doesnt massively block anyone's view, it should be ok.
It's all about property deeds, restrictive covenants, HA/Landlord's rules and the legality of enlarging a driveway and parking a caravan there. And the HA will have the final say on what is allowed----and prohibition of caravans is so very common in most urban areas in England.0 -
sevenhills said:ThisIsWeird said:
In the OP's case, the HA is presumably actively running the estate on a day to day basis. And can presumably also enforce the rs. Presumably. What if the HA is not the author? I dunno.These days most estates are mixed, private/social housing. Which is the type of estate that I live on and there is a caravan in one of the gardens.It's quite a large garden, so as long as the OPs caravan doesnt massively block anyone's view, it should be ok.
The covenants here say no caravans, boats or commercial vehicles to be parked on driveways.
We queried this with the developers when we bought the property as we were looking to buy a motorhome (registered as a motor caravan). They were very clear that it was exceptionally rare for them to enforce the covenants.
We bought the motorhome and it has been happily tucked up on the driveway for a few years now with no complaints. But we are fortunate that it is tucked away out of sight and no neighbours can see it from any of their windows with how the properties are positioned, in fact we can't even see it from a window!
Several properties now have caravans and commercial vehicles as well.
In the ops case they really should consult the housing association in the first instance.0 -
At the risk of sounding like a boring fart, other people’s experiences of successfully breaching their covenants aren’t going to help you (unless someone on here has the same HA).No one on here will suffer the consequences if you’ve been told no but do it anyway. If your HA says you need to ask permission, ask for it and go from there.Thanks for explaining the word 'many' to me. It means a lot.3
-
the fear the HA might have with agreeing to caravans on driveways is that households may decide to rent them outGather ye rosebuds while ye may0
-
YoungBlueEyes said:At the risk of sounding like a boring fart, other people’s experiences of successfully breaching their covenants aren’t going to help you (unless someone on here has the same HA).No one on here will suffer the consequences if you’ve been told no but do it anyway. If your HA says you need to ask permission, ask for it and go from there.Every estate is different; my estate is generally quite nice, but I have been emailing housing department about two armchairs that are in someones garden, it's very overgrown.No action and I emailed them over six months ago, a number of times.0
-
I have known people who live in urban developments with this very common covenant forbidding caravans----and the covenant's terms have been enforced rigorously , resulting in a lot of problems for the caravan owners who thought the covenant would never be enforced. It is most definitely enforced because many residents everywhere see caravan parking in a suburb to be unsightly and one anonymous complaint can result in bad feelings----and there will probably already be bad feelings from some residents in the street/area.0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 240.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.6K Life & Family
- 254K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards