covenants banning parking of motorhome on driveway (2 Viewers)

patch

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We want to move house so that we can have bigger drive to park MH. Yesterday after a house viewing we were told that there was a covenant banning the parking of caravans , motorhomes etc. Anyone had this problem?
 

MattR

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Many houses do - ours is 40 years old and has the same. Apparently put in place to stop builders staying on site after the work had been done - or something like that.

I was told by our solicitor that it would be difficult to enforce - even more difficult if the motorhome or caravan was not causing an obstruction or blocking light etc.
 

ourcampersbeentrashed

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covenants can apparently only be enforced by the person who original placed the covenant on the deed or a direct descendant. Going to court to get a covenant removed apparently is extremely expensive

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Theonlysue

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Not long enough!
My covanant was put in place in 1977 - no caravans.
But when I checked with my local solicitor, she said that it would be really difficult to enforce,
moreso, as several neighbours have caravans and motorhomes on their front.

Some of the more expensive/upmarket areas also have a no workvan covenant, which I have heard of being enforced by the selling agents.
 

DuxDeluxe

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Same here - covenant in place around our and neighbouring houses as well. No caravans, boats or chickens. All of those around here.......

We did check to make sure that the neighbours were ok with us parking the van on the drive before we hot the first one. No issues.
 
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The key point to establish is who is the beneficiary of the covenant. Sometimes it is the original builder/developer, but sometimes its also includes other owners on the estate. If its the former its only to keep the estate looking good while they sell the rest of the houses, once the estate has been complete there are not interested. However if its the later then any owner can enforce it at any time. Whether the courts would consider the breach of the covenant sufficiently serious to grant an injunction is another matter.
 

DBK

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These covenants are often put in by the developers so the houses look pretty while they are still trying to sell them. For example if they build two houses next to each other, sell one and the new owner puts a huge MH on the drive they may struggle to sell the second one. As others have said you can probably ignore it as the original covenant owner would probably now struggle to prove any financial loss.

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cydersyd

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I had the same experience, however, my solicitor told me that the covenant only remains in force as long as the builder of the property remains in business. If he retires the covenant dies. If however he sells his business to another builder and he continues to operate, then the covenant remains in force, but probably not enforceable.
 

JJ

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As a Rufty Tufty, Freeloading, Offsite Parking, Full Timing Tosser (but never been asked to move on) this thread once again draws my attention to my own rule one.

Houses and Motorhomes don't get on with each other.

It appears that sometimes they don't get on even when you are the owner of BOTH!


JJ :cool:

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icantremember

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When in 2009 we bought our current bungalow which was built in 1997 we were told,at the last moment by our solicitor, that the builders had put a covenant on it to say no caravans and he suggested we drop the purchase..... I was not amused.

The builder is still in existence, so a quick phone call to them and the covenant was confirmed as still holding.

However, fortunately we have space alongside the bungalow and they were happy for us to park our m/h there so long as it was behind the building line and closed gates.
 

Ivory55

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A covenant to stop you parking a motorhome on your own drive always seems daft to me , as long as it's taxed etc you could park it on the road outside of the house and upset people quite ok.
 
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Modern covenants, re caravans, MHs and work vans are taken out for the whole development including roads

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Ivory55

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Surely once the road is adopted by the council for maintenance etc it's nothing to do with the builders. It just seems odd you pay a lot of money for a house and you are told what you can do with it just as if you was renting it. Still it's a strange world.
 

GJH

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Surely once the road is adopted by the council for maintenance etc it's nothing to do with the builders. It just seems odd you pay a lot of money for a house and you are told what you can do with it just as if you was renting it. Still it's a strange world.
Not quite. You are actually told what you can/can't do before buying. If people buy knowing the restrictions then that is their decision. I'm pretty sure few (if any) people are actually forced to buy a particular property.
 

jonandshell

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Simply buy a house that predates the internal combustion engine!
No covenants, no problems!!!!!::bigsmile:

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Ivory55

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I agree nobody forces you to buy a house , just strange that's all. Still I can hardly see the police coming round if it's in the road or on your drive.
 
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It's not the police that will be interested, If neighbours object they could take legal action to make you comply with the covenant. Not likely but possible
 

Ivory55

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Yes , I just find it strange that a public road can be subject to somebody's covenants. We live and learn.

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GJH

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Yes , I just find it strange that a public road can be subject to somebody's covenants. We live and learn.
Public roads normally aren't covered by the covenant (though on road parking of certain vehicles is restricted on some council estates). Restrictions normally apply to the curtilage of the property.
 

TerryL

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There,s a covenant about caravans in our deeds, whether or not it's still enforceable or not I wouldn,t know and care less. But, apart from loading/unloading for our trips and even though the neighbours don't mind at all, there's no way I would leave the van on the drive. For one, it advertises if we're away or not.
And as for parking in the road outside you should realise nobody has the 'right' to park anywhere on public roads; provided your vehicle is not causing an obstruction it's presence is usually 'tolerated'. But most modern estate roads are simply not wide enough for normal traffic, far less the majority of motorhomes. Although you still see them.

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Ivory55

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Your right about the roads not being wide enough, dust carts , delivery drivers, and us have to drive on the pavement. Have been told that's ok as it's not against the law to drive on the pavement. If you can get through or past by driving on the pavement then it's not an obstruction, and that was the police who told me that.o
 

camocam1

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our estate actually has a covenant that says you cannot erect a TV ARIEL as it was all piped TV. Was enforced for a few years but then came SKY DISHES and apparently they were not classes a TV ARIELS !!!! so not enforceable.
 

magicsurfbus

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I'm pretty certain our covenant specifies if it's 'not registered as a motor vehicle' or something similar, but as the drive is too short to keep it there it doesn't really matter anyway. We park it across the garden for a few days before or after holidays but to be honest I wouldn't want it there long term, let alone what the neighbours might think.
 

Chris

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We have a covenant like that on our house but the beneficiary of the covenant is a Company which has long been defunct so I would happily breach it with impunity.

Well I would if I could fit the motorhome on the drive.:frowny:
 

sdc77

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How would anyone know if a neighbours house had a covenant.. Is it a public record?

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