HELP NEEDED!! - Builders Covanent re Caravan on drive

Alan_M_2

I have a warehouse near Gatwick, we've had run ins with the local council (Mole Valley DC) regarding planning permissions for various minor things, but our neighbours had major issues when they were told to remove two portakabins.

In the ensuing conflab, one of the things they discovered was the local planning laws required an application to park a caravan on your own drive. Seemed odd to me and I'd never thought anything of it until I read this thread.

So if you want a neighbour to move it, check the planning laws, if you're thinking of parking one up a quick check might be prudent also.

archiesdad

any update op?

LittleTinker

!!!!!! wrote: »

The schedule says "unbuilt on part of the property"and specifically mentions this as garden . As the driveway could be considered 'built on" as it has been tarmacced/paved then it is not garden and you can park the caravan on it.

My interpretation is that you can not park a caravan on the garden (unbuilt on part of the property)

Yes, thats how I read it too.

You cannot have a caravan in the garden!

Ms_Chocaholic

I'd be interested to see how OP got on, did u approach neighbour or just ignore the letter?

alm721

I think nearly all new houses tend to have these covenents. You are not supposed to park caravans or commercial vehicles in the drive, keep poultry etc. Our van is kept elsewhere but we do bring it home before we go away to load up etc. Our house is detached and has parking for around 6 vehicles and is nowhere near anyone elses view so is no problem. However, my next door door neighbour once 'tongue in cheeck' tried to tell me it shouldn't be there. I replied that I could park it on the road outside the house thereby blocking her view from her front window if she liked, she then said she was only joking. It seems mad that I can park it on the road (and its only quite a narrow road) and cause an obstruction but 'technically ' shouldn't have it on the drive. Incidentally I think down our street there are probably only about 2 houses that are not in some way breaking covenants due to commercial vehicles, keeping chickens, putting sheds where they shouldn't be etc. Nobody cares, everyone just gets on with it, I could understand if you where in some way obscuring their view but sounds like they are being very petty.
Personally I would do nothing. I very much doubt they will take you to court and very much doubt they would get anywhere if they attempted to. If it were to go this far I would simply say you'd park it on the road instead and after a few days of it being outside their house they'll be glad for it to move back.

Anne3333

You also have to bear in mind that town houses, by their very nature, are tall thin, terraced houses. What might be acceptable on a detached or semi drive, is very different on a house that is less than 25 feet wide. Perhaps the neighbours are looking to move and realise that it would be off-putting for many potential buyers and no doubt would wipe a few thousand off their asking price.
I am slightly biased as I wake up each morning and have to look out onto my own neighbour's caravan, the side of which is no further than 2 feet from my daughter's downstairs bedroom window. When I have had a little drink, I am ALMOST tempted to gently unhook the brake and give it a delicate SHOVE down the road into oblivion!
Not sure that you are legally allowed them parked on the road either unless you have road tax!

ukjoel

Simple answer (and I know someone who did this) is to buy a very cheap car- something truly abysmal and awful. Then fill it with black bin bags full of rubbish, fag ends, etc, and a duvet (so it looks like someone is dossing sown in it) then have it mot's and taxed and park it in front of the neighbours house (not blocking the driveway) and put the caravan on the back of it.

All perfectly legal, Will drive them mad, and as you will have noticed from previous threads, the police are powerless against a legal car parked on the road as long as its not causing an obstruction.

Will cost you £300 but within weeks they will be begging you to put the caravan back on your drive and move the car.

SOmetimes you need to play nasty.

One other point - we bought our house and it had a covenent saying no cars or caravans on drive. Entire street has cars on drives and all have had kerbs dropped by council. We queried it with council and they dropped covenent (although retain the right to reintroduce it)
Dont be afraid to chase the person who set the covenent asking for an exception at their discretion.

Solicitors letters are bandied round like confetti - Doesnt mean they always win - otherwise there wouldnt be the need for other solicotrs to argue with them.

dubsey

This house has the same covenants, commercial vehicles, signwritten vehicles, caravans, boats, we also are supposed to keep the front gardens open plan with no fences, hedges, walls etc, but nobody here has kept to any of those rules and I don't think anyone cares.

The next road down however has a busy body that asked a friend of mine to move their caravan. She'd had it for a number of years until new neighbours moved in. They said it was in the deeds and they'd take her to court etc and she just didn't want the hassle, so she stores it at a caravan park 10 mins drive away.