Covenants against parking motorhome on drives.

[merl]

Our house is currently up for sale and we're looking at moving into a more urban setting. I've become aware that a lot of properties have covenants against the parking of caravans on the drive. Although we wont ever own a caravan we will want to park our MH on the drive so my question essentially relates to the definition of a caravan and the fact that the V5s typically refer to our MHs as 'motor caravans'. With the above in mind does anyone know of any case law pertaining to whether or not a MH has been proved or disproved to be a 'caravan' by a judge?

 

[trevskoda]

I have read that some covenants die with the owner of the ground rents, better to buy outright and clean.

 

[Robmac]

It's worth a search on the word 'covenant' on the site Merl, I'm sure this has come up a few times before.

 

[r4dent]

Good read

Don't assume you can park caravans and commercial vans on your driveway

There is nothing worse than buying a house, or even a caravan, and finding you receive a knock on your door and a neighbour says the caravan is not

www.trethowans.com

 

[merl]

I have read that some covenants die with the owner of the ground rents, better to buy outright and clean.

Yeh, I've also read that the covenant gets enshrined in planning too Trev, it's complicated but ultimately IF a judge has at some point in time made a decision that a MH is NOT a caravan then everything else becomes a mute point because when a judge makes a clarification it then becomes the law, ie case law.

 

[RSD7a]

I guess if the covenant covered "motor caravans" it would have to say exactly that? Isn't that how the law works? And I understand you are looking for more than a guess. Any lawyers on here?

 

[wildebus]

There are covenants also that never get enforced, especially on older houses. I bought a house in St Alban's and that had a covenant dating from the construction (1940) that stated caravans were not permitted unless owned by a Doctor or Dentist (?). I doubt 60 odd years later anyone took any notice.
However I know there are plenty of covenants that are rigorously enforced when it comes to the parking of commercial vehicles.
Just like you would evaluate other aspects of a house and if you would like to live in it, I'd look around the area to check the presence of motorhomes and caravans. If there are NONE around despite room to park them, I would definitely investigate deeper.

 

[RichardHelen262]

From what I have read elsewhere, the covenant is put there by the builder to keep the site looking tidy whilst they are still building and selling the homes,
The only person that can give the correct advise is your solicitor, but if you know who the builder is and that they no longer have any interest in the development, you could ask them if they would be willing to lift the covenant.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Our house is currently up for sale and we're looking at moving into a more urban setting. I've become aware that a lot of properties have covenants against the parking of caravans on the drive. Although we wont ever own a caravan we will want to park our MH on the drive so my question essentially relates to the definition of a caravan and the fact that the V5s typically refer to our MHs as 'motor caravans'. With the above in mind does anyone know of any case law pertaining to whether or not a MH has been proved or disproved to be a 'caravan' by a judge?

Move to North Durham.

Houses are very cheap and nobody round here appears to give a flying fig about parking mohos, campervans or caravans on your driveway

 

[Fisherman]

Where I live you can park a motorhome on your drive but not a caravan, yet there used to be two parked, and they were there for years. My missives also state that no commercial vehicles can be parked anywhere in the street, including driveways, yet there are always commercial vehicles parked in the street. Also the missives also state that vehicles must be parked in front of the garage doors when parked on the driveway. Yet some had their homes extended and were were told they had to increase the size of their driveways. This meant that vehicles are now parked away from the garage doors.
So I reckon in the vast majority of cases much of what is mentioned in these covenants is either unenforceable, or are simply ignored. It’s even likely that most living in a street, are not fully ofey with these covenants.

 

[Gadabout2]

Just park your perfectly legal fully insured, taxed and MOTd motor vehicle on the road (provided there are no other parking restrictions) outside the house of anyone who complains about a covenant preventing you from parking you MH in your drive. The nimbys will soon get the point and withdraw their complaints.

 

[caledonia]

Move on and buy a property that suits you. It’s about compromise when you buy a house but secure parking for your shed should be a must

 

[Val54]

I wouldn't worry about it until you get to the serious buying stage, there are too many variations. As has been said, most modern estates have been registered with the Land Registry when built. If there is a covenant and the builder has finished and left the site then it is unlikely that anyone else can enforce it because they won't have a legitimate interest as a landowner of your prospective purchase. However there is a simple answer, when you find one you like, do a Land Registry search on line, its cheap and if there is a restrictive covenant it will show in the results. If there is one, you can pay a bit more and get the actual wording and take it from there.

 

[trevskoda]

Just park your perfectly legal fully insured, taxed and MOTd motor vehicle on the road (provided there are no other parking restrictions) outside the house of anyone who complains about a covenant preventing you from parking you MH in your drive. The nimbys will soon get the point and withdraw their complaints.

Happened to a mate who brought his fridge van home, old doll next door made a complaint, so mate parked it on the road with the diesel frifge motor running all night, polace came and said he is legal, in the end the old fa-t gave in.

 

[wildebus]

Just park your perfectly legal fully insured, taxed and MOTd motor vehicle on the road (provided there are no other parking restrictions) outside the house of anyone who complains about a covenant preventing you from parking you MH in your drive. The nimbys will soon get the point and withdraw their complaints.

A great attitude and start to make when moving somewhere and hoping to enjoy your new home and neighbourhood. Not sure if I would like to be a neighbour of yours!

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Vehicle parking - of all kinds - in residential areas is one of the biggest sources of neighbourly disputes, or so I was led to believe by someone from our local council who deals with this sort of stuff.

This was a few years back, doubt human nature has changed any in the intervening period.

I think the magic words for a peaceful life are tolerance and consideration. Rare attitudes. Even amongst - dare I say it! (yes actually, I do dare... ) forum members (shock! horror!)

Certainly if you judge things by the amount of grumbling and moaning that has gone on in here for donkeys' blummin' years (me included!!)

 

[3longos]

We have lived in our property from new 24 years now, having myself had a similar query i would check the wording of the proposed house deeds very carefully they are specific to that property & estate, do not rely on general comments or other peoples kind views, For example, our deeds have two separate groups of covenants, some last for just 5yrs, these are around maintaining the look and feel of the estate during the early years as the estate was developing, however there is another set that talk specifically about axle weights, sizes and types of vehicles. Before i bought the motorhome i asked if neighbours would mind it being parked for cleaning over a 2 day period max ( not stored ) which was agreed, then a few months after i got a written complaint about it should not be there at all.. i suspect someone else wound up my neighbour, you dont just decide to read your deeds for the fun of it.. :-(

 

[TissyD]

We have a house we rent out that we bought as a new build. In the deeds it stated that every property could only have 1 car and there was to be no parking on the roads. They had provided a car park for visitors but then went and built flats on it. When you go on the estate now there are cars and caravans parked all over the place.

 

[korky]

Be careful with solicitor's. I live on a shared yard with my own private parking space. There was a covenant saying one car or motorcycle,no vans or caravans, made by the previous owner of the house opposite,who owned the rest of the yard.When I retired and wanted to buy a van I asked the new owner if we could change the covenant. He agreed. I went to my solicitor,gave them all the details and a new covenant was drawn up. I had my legal fees to pay and those of my neighbour. I later found out that the previous covenant expired when the previous owner of the yard left. He died soon after as well. Complete waste of money and I still have a covenant.

 

[trevskoda]

We have a house we rent out that we bought as a new build. In the deeds it stated that every property could only have 1 car and there was to be no parking on the roads. They had provided a car park for visitors but then went and built flats on it. When you go on the estate now there are cars and caravans parked all over the place.

Once the council take possesion of a road surface all the cr-p about parking goes out the window, but i must mention even they have little control.
WE have a second home with a turning at end of street, folks living oppisite now park there cars there which meens you have to reverse about 20 homes up the street to get out.
I contacted the council and out they came, i ask for yellow lines, na we cant do that as it may cause trouble, what.