Keeping a caravan on a new development…..

Our house is around 7 years old and we know full well that it’s stated in the deeds that caravans shouldn’t be kept anywhere on the development.

However, we have a communial car park at the back and chanced our arm by parking ours there. We asked all the neighbours who had it in their line of sight and all were absolutely fine about it.

The old cow who takes it on herself to be the local busybody/witch has been round today and made an issue – although she never even sees it from her house, or the approach to it. Despite stating that she doesn’t have a problem and that no-one has complained, she felt it necessary to enquire with the solicitor acting for our management company (yeah, like she didn’t know already) and he has confirmed that it shouldn’t be there.

So, does this become a problem only if someone (erm, old witch) does ask a solicitor to send us a letter, or could the authorities get involved? Private car park btw.

So you already know that it shouldn’t be kept there, but you think it’s ok to keep it there? And anyone who objects to your breaking the rules is a ‘local busybody/witch’?

Do you approve/are tolerant of other selfish behaviour by your neighbours?

wee and bombers
i detest folk who complain for the sake of it
Miserable feckers…deny it is yours then park something outside her house

It will be a covenant either in your long leasehold (the freehold being owned by the management company of which you may own a share or not) or it’s own entry on the charges register against your freehold with a beneficiary which may be other house owners individually or corporately. Not much you can do about it unless you can get the covenant waived (temporarily) or removed from the register completely by negotiation with any beneficiary (often for a fee).

Stoner, on the otherhand unless somebody else can be bothered to make a fuss about it (possibly involving lawyers costs etc) then there is little they can do to enforce it – i.e. answering the OP’s question – no the council have no interest in the covenants (to my understanding).

the site rules only apply for five years i know cos i bought a brand new house five years ago….

Is parking an issue on the estate?

Elfinsafety – Member
So you already know that it shouldn’t be kept there, but you think it’s ok to keep it there? And anyone who objects to your breaking the rules is a ‘local busybody/witch’?

Do you approve/are tolerant of other selfish behaviour by your neighbours?

As far as I can see at this moment in time Fred, the only person being selfish is the old witch.

I knew I could count on you for an unbiased view though – cheers.

The point being, the only people it might bother are fine about it, yet the one person it has no effect on whatsoever, decides to wage war.

If it has to go, then I’m fully aware there’s nothing I can do about it, but petty busybodies boil my piss.

falkirk-mark – Member
Is parking an issue on the estate?

No, there are dozens of spaces and it’s parked unobtrusively in the corner of a car park that no-one ever actually parks in.

Why dont you just put it on a field somewhere or on an industrial estate, with a few others, then invite channel 4 round to make a programe about people who have caravans.

or perhaps how would you feel if somebody put a large crt tv and a fridge along with a car with obviouss signs of not being able to be moved on the same land, just like council tennants do.

I knew I could count on you for an unbiased view though – cheers.

No worries. 😉

But if you think it’s ok to park your caravan there, then what if everyone else decides to do the same? Or decides to bung a speedboat there? Or a skip, etc?

I’ve never seen a caravan ‘enhance’ the look of an area, even a car park. What about if a couple of other neighbours decide to keep caravens there too? You can bet someone is thinking that this might reduce the value of their property, and put potential buyers off. Lots of people hate caravans (I know I do!).

I’d probably think so f***ing what Fred tbh.

Fair enough. But you can at least appreciate that not everyone else will think the same, and are of entitled to do so, and that they are choosing to obey the ‘rules’, however silly they may seem, giving them the moral high ground?

They’ve paid lots of money to live there, and may well want to live in a caravan-free environment. And as the rules support that, are they not entitled to live there without others breaking the rules as they see fit?

Just playing Devil’s Avocado here, you understand…

STR I think it’s a private thing from what you’ve said, needs someone who can enforce the right to start hassling you.

Elfinsafety – Member
So you already know that it shouldn’t be kept there, but you think it’s ok to keep it there? And anyone who objects to your breaking the rules is a ‘local busybody/witch’?

Do you approve/are tolerant of other selfish behaviour by your neighbours?

Blimey you walked right into that. So you are 100% law abiding? And aren’t slagging STR off for personal reasons?

Please try harder, this is embarrassingly easy for me.

Our last 3 houses have been new builds and they all have the covenant about not being allowed to park caravans outside the houses and good job too as I personally find caravans an eyesore.

Interesting what andyplasterer says about the 5 years as we have been in our current house for almost 8 years and thankfully no caravans yet. I wonder if the clause varies slightly by development?

So, given you knew about the covenant before buying the caravan.

Big deal fatty – I can stick it in storage if I have to.

Al – cheers

Then do that- problem solved! No more busybody/witch neighbour problems! 🙂

So you are 100% law abiding?

No Al, he isn’t – he thinks it’s fine to steal music off the internet and see artists lose out on royalties for one example.

Get a campervan,then you can leave it and no-one can say anything.

In Scotland, due to feudal tenure and its post 2003 Act replacement, the feudal superior could enforce the right as well as neighbours on the development (anywhere, not nec. in line of sight etc) there may be an equivalent in Engerland, I dunno (basically historic estate owner etc).

Oh a hypocrite you say? Well I never. Who’d have thought it?

I had this with my lurverly neighbour when we got a caravan
and parked it on our drive well out of sight of said neighbour

He came round with a copy of the deeds and told me it had to be moved .

I said when the courts tell me to move it I will move it . ( he never went to court )

andyplasterer – ours have always applied indefinitely (last 3 houses).

falkirk-mark – I’m not certain but I think our current covenants prohibit campervan (and certainly commercial vehicles) too…

HoHum – yes each development (and certainly each developer) can have slight differences in the clauses. e.g. no boats here, but boats not mentioned at last place.

trout – Member
I had this with my lurverly neighbour when we got a caravan
and parked it on our drive well out of sight of said neighbour

He came round with a copy of the deeds and told me it had to be moved .

I said when the courts tell me to move it I will move it . ( he never went to court )

That’s my current stance trout – and if it does go to court, I know who’se instigated it

Difference is, Trout’s ‘van was on his private drive; yours is in a communal car-park. Doubt it’ll go to court; you’ll get warning to move it, if you’re lucky, or the estate owners can very easily just send a truck round, tow your ‘vayn away. Scrapyard- bosh! No more ‘vayn, no more problems! 😀

I would leave it there until I was told officially that I had to move it. Why all the sniping? Not exactly beating old dears over the head and stealing their pension – is it?

Get a campervan,then you can leave it and no-one can say anything.

Mate of mine had problems cos of his campervayn being parked in the estate car-park. He sorted it out though, as he could prove he used it as his main form of transport for work and that.

Another mate had some friends bung a caravan on his drive, which was tucked away down the side of his house, and two friends who were between houses live in it for a few months. Did get a bit problematic, as apparently there’s planning laws about ‘permanent dwellings’ or something, but they sorted it by being nice to their neighbours, inviting them over for BBQs and stuff, and not ‘officially’ living in the vayn (basically it was just a bedroom really).

Bunging something on communal space is another matter though…

well about 5 people on our site av got them no problems av got a caravan but its way too big to go on my drive and av also add a big transit van parked on the road which they said i couldnt park
whos to tell you what you can and carnt do the only thing the house builder wants is your f**king cash and for what a pile off fresh s*it ///

In Scotland, due to feudal tenure and its post 2003 Act replacement, the feudal superior could enforce the right as well as neighbours on the development

Apparently the builder of our scheme put a clause into the deeds that he got 5% of the value of any extension put onto any house.

I told him to F’cough and see you in court. never heard a peep since, that was 14yrs ago.

Nasty shed-dragger believes he isn’t selfish? Only if you don’t drag your shed around on the publc roads.

Well thought out, constructive argument there TooTall.

Thanks for your contribution. At least Elfin creates a semi-plausible argument, whereas you just deliver drivel, without using a spellchecker.

Went to see the old cow this morning.

Despite initially being calm and politely asking if she had a problem with the caravan, she instantly accused me of going round to be aggressive.

She then blustered that she didn’t have a problem as she couldn’t even see it, so I asked her who did, as it certainly wasn’t any of my neighbours. She then told me that it was me who had the problem and I should take it up with the solicitor.

I once again asked her what the problem was if it wasn’t bothering anyone including her by her own admission, to which she started moaning about ill health and not needing to deal with issues such as this. Here endeth our meeting with me telling her not to make an issue out of it then and calling her a spiteful old lady.

I’ll expect a solicitors letter within a few days.

Sounds like a busy body all right. Try putting a green cover over the van. Whom ever is complaining might find is less obvious? If it’s tidy and not blocking and ones view / light I can’t see how it is being unreasonable. I don’t have a caravan but they do seem to bring out an irrational bigoted hatred in some people.

Here it is as can be seen from my bedroom window – strangely none of the three houses that belong to the gardens in shot have a problem with it (including two old couples).

So you are parking a caravan on the development despite knowing that you should not be doing so, you go round and intimidate and an old lady and call her names. A nice neighbour you are.

Where do you live? I’m thinking of complaining myself.

It’s only an issue if someone makes it an issue though TJ.

It isn’t bothering anybody, nobody seems to feel that they need to enforce the terms of the deeds (except her), she says it isn’t bothering her, nobody has complained, so the only reason she has gone to the solicitor is out of spite.

It’s her who isn’t being very neighbourly.

Lol @ TSY