Worried Parent

user1977

other that say you cannot run an ebay shop from the property or any business whatsoever

I'm pretty certain nobody has a covenant that says you cannot run an ebay shop!

Any "no business" restrictions are clearly aimed at material changes of use of residential property, so doing something which creates lots of visitors / noise / fumes / whatever. Tapping away at your computer is not going to be prohibited (and even if it was, why would anybody spend time and money trying to enforce it?).

eddddy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864335#Comment_81864335

Developers typically impose those types of covenants because it makes the development desirable to more buyers and therefore helps to sell the houses - they tend to attract more buyers than they dissuade. (Otherwise why would the developers bother?)

Many people would be annoyed about

• neighbours parking their vans and trucks on the street outside other people's houses
• neighbours running car repair businesses on their driveways
• neighbours having a stream of customers arriving for massages - who use up limited parking spaces
• neighbours who spoil the uniformity of the development by installing out of character doors and windows

So those buyers are pleased that those covenants exist.

But obviously it won't suit all buyers. Some people will want to park 1 or maybe 2 vans or trucks in the street, or run a car repair business on their driveway, so they'll need to look elsewhere.

dinosaur66

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864382#Comment_81864382

so when the plumbing has a leak

cooker develops a fault

boiler stops working

drains are overflowing with excretment

what they do not want is any white van man living on the estate

maybe a covenant that any trades who turn up must be in a car and dressed in a suit

WIAWSNB

What is the reasoning behind it being lease instead of free?

Is it because the FHolder can control and enforce the terms of the deeds such as listed above by eddddy?

If so, as pointed out, is that a bad thing?

Add to that keeping the front of your property tidy, grass cut, good state of repair. A good thing?

The devil is surely in the detail; what is involved, what do you get for the maintenance charge, who the FH is, and what restriction is there on charge increases - kept to inflation?

I know such restrictions can and are often included in the deeds of FH properties too - the in-law's previous new estate house had some of the above, including no caravans parked at the front of a property. New buyer - who visited before purchase and asked neighbours about this, and was told it was both restricted in the deeds and considered unacceptable - continued with purchase, and planted the mother of all 'vans out t'front. Unenforceable. The point isn't about whether it was a reasonable restrictive covenant or not, but simply that it was ineffectual. Would a leasehold property be different? I presume so.

Potentially, therefore, is there a lot to be said about it for many folk? Who would want someone else's large van parked outside their front window? Constant car door slamming and engine startups during the day, potentially the eve? An unmaintained frontage? Decaying communal areas due to some folk not contributing?

dinosaur66

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864343#Comment_81864343

i have an ebay shop

i sell media i which are on twelve 6 foot 6 bookcases in my outdoor office in my garden

i have to have insurance broker house insurance as standard home insurance via meekats website does not cover it and could have insurance invalidated if anything happened and insurance was not informed

i just have buildings insurance only

millions in the uk sell on marketplace/ebay/amazon /vinted /etc etc and while i have never had a claim and been self employed 43 years my guess is insurance companys will do anything to invalidate a claim

are people running a business from home / hmrc thinks so if you sell 30 items a year

eddddy

dinosaur66 so when the plumbing has a leak cooker develops a fault boiler stops working drains are overflowing with excretment what they do not want is any white van man living on the estate

Yes - that seems to be what most buyers want. Otherwise why would developers impose those kinds of covenants?

Developers want to make as much money as they can by selling houses, so they impose covenants that will make the houses easier to sell and/or that will help them sell for a bit more money.

(But realistically, perhaps part of the problem would be that if van parking was allowed - some home owners might park smart polished white vans, but others might park large old dirty scruffy vans. It would become very difficult, if somebody had to look at each van and decide whether it is smart enough to be parked on the estate. It would be easier just to ban all vans.)

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864542#Comment_81864542

Plus as said freehold properties on new developments, can have the same covenants. In fact most older freehold properties will have some old covenants. So it is not really related to the property being leasehold.

Albermarle

What is the 

reasoning

 behind it being lease instead of free

Probably not the only reason, but some developers were selling their freehold to third parties for a tidy sum, who were then ruthlessly jacking up the charges to the leaseholders. The reason why new leasehold houses are not allowed anymore.( since May 2024) .

dinosaur66

i own a property on a 18 year old estate in scotland

origianally built for key workers

during lockdown and covid the van ban was overturned when it turns out lots of key workers were having to drive there cars to collect there vans from up to 3 towns away where they were kept on parents / friends driveways to keep them safe from being broken into or nicked

any one who has ever owned a van knows this is a big problem

van ban was not reinstated after lockdown

i can understand if you live in a high value modern area in a city about the van rule but in more rural uk ,a high percentage of working age men who live in small towns with these new estates going up on the periphery of the towns a lot of times are self employed white van man as there is little work unless you have a trade and little work that allows you the funds to buy a house

and some of the key workers like police/medical staff / where i have my property i found out 2 years ago when a 90mph storm hit have not even got £500 in savings to afford to do repairs depsite having fancy cars and a nice house ,its all on tick.

RelievedSheff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864382#Comment_81864382

The house we are in the process of buying has a no commercial vehicles, caravans, mobile homes or boats covenant.

The covenant is so widely breached already on an 8 year old estate that our solicitors have advised that us parking our motorhome on the drive would never be able to be enforced!