Home Parking or Off-Site Secure (1 Viewer)

[Falcon 269]

Hi,

Looking for your advice, please. We're relocating to the UK from Spain in a few months and will be bringing our Adria with us. Obviously will need to re-register with DVLA and so on (subject of another thread) but in the process of house-hunting, the question has come up about being allowed to park a 7.3 mtr motorhome on our property. Friends seemed to think that on their estate there are limitations on what property owners can park permanently on their drive. Is this normal/common?

Ideally we want the vehicle on our driveway but if we should have to park elsewhere, what's the typical cost of secure parking?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[David and Sally]

I think it mainly depends on how old the estate is. These restrictions are lost when the builder is no longer around to enforce it.
There has been some discussion of this recently on the site.

We keep ours on our drive during pockdown despite having a permanent pitch about twenty miles away for peace of mind. It’s quite discrete and the neighbours are totally fine with it.
After lockdown we will move ours back to site.
Have a look round the area and see who else does store on the drive.

 

[Diabalo]

I currently pay £600 PA for hard standing 24 Hour access with a fob. I can get the use of EHU to charge the batteries if needed. I would prefer the van to be at home but not possible.

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[Gellyneck]

There can be restrictions mainly on newer built properties.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Have a look round the area and see who else does store on the drive.

Google satellite maps could be a way of checking what is happening around the area and whether there are caravans or Motorhomes in drives, they do tend to stand out.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Have you purchased the property?

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[pandas]

Hi,

Looking for your advice, please. We're relocating to the UK from Spain in a few months and will be bringing our Adria with us. Obviously will need to re-register with DVLA and so on (subject of another thread) but in the process of house-hunting, the question has come up about being allowed to park a 7.3 mtr motorhome on our property. Friends seemed to think that on their estate there are limitations on what property owners can park permanently on their drive. Is this normal/common?

Ideally we want the vehicle on our driveway but if we should have to park elsewhere, what's the typical cost of secure parking?

Many thanks in advance.

also checking your insurance, some will want them parked within a secure area

 

[Silver-Fox]

There will no doubt be something in the deeds in the covenants stating what can and park on your drive.

As said very often if the builder has gone ie no longer trading the covenants tend to be lost.

But that’s not to say someone couldn’t take a private action but obviously there’s a cost implication with that course of action.

We lived on an estate where the covenants said no caravans and the builder was still trading.
No one took any notice.

 

[Rapido925M]

My daughter has had serious problems with otherwise friendly neighbours because she parked a VW camper on the drive.

"It blocks our light"; "it spoils our view"; "it's against the covenants"; "it's an eyesore".

In reality, houses are well spaced detached buildings in a close. The complainant is 30metres away. The van is only a couple of years old and in excellent condition.

It almost reached the stage of solicitors letters but the Estate Management Committee decided to not back the neighbour after my daughter paid landscapers to alter her front garden so that the van was slightly less prominent.

Take care - Gordon

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[mikebeaches]

As has been mentioned, it tends to be on newer housing developments where restrictive covenants are written into the deeds.

Our secure hard standing storage site between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare charges £499 pa. We have an electronic gate key and full access during the daytime.

We've got space at home, but because we bought an additional car in the autumn, the van was cluttering up the drive. But we only put it in store for 6 months through the winter, which was £299. It will be at home again from 1 April.

 

[Falcon 269]

Have you purchased the property?

Not yet. Only just sold the house here and will complete - hopefully - late April/early May. Moving back to stay with family first and then start the house search in earnest. That said, must have viewed 300 or more online this weekend LOL!

 

[Hagstrom]

£320pa near Knaresborough. Hardstanding in secure compound.

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[Pausim]

Most restrictive covenants run with the land meaning the obligations and the benefits pass on to the new owner of the land. I believe the wording and intention of the original covenant are important but in my opinion it is unwise to assume that a restriction has lapsed, just because the builder is no longer around. I am not a solicitor but spent many years in property management, including development. On more than one occasion long hidden covenants were enforced because a neighbouring landowner objected to something.

 

[Silver-Fox]

On more than one occasion long hidden covenants were enforced because a neighbouring landowner objected to something.

Out of interest the covenants were enforced by who.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

We used to park ours at home but we decided to put it into storage after a friend asked us where we'd been as she noticed that the van wasn't there? Obviously if they had noticed (they didn't live local BTW, just passing) then others would too. Ne'er-do-wells don't need any encouragement so making it obvious we aren't at home isn't a good idea.

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[David and Sally]

and then start the house search in earnest.

You definitely can’t park on a drive in Earnest. Very posh there don’t you know?

 

[Minxy]

As mentioned you need to check the wording of any covenant/deed etc for the property you are interested in, some have a clause which may preclude any sort of MH/caravan/boat/trailer etc at all, others may allow them if they are behind the 'building line'. We had this with our rental bungalow purchased in 2006 which allowed MHs etc but only behind the building line, as it is a corner plot the parking was in front of the bungalow so we were in effect only allowed to have cars however we got round it by having a fence installed prior to purchase at the very front edge of the plot which extended the 'registered' building line.

 

[Sapper520]

We picked a 6m van so we could park it at home as we have no restrictions.

Some years ago we had a caravan. When we first had it we were able to park it down the side of the house, but when we moved to our current home we had to put it into storage. Our use of the van dropped dramatically as I couldn’t be bothered to get it out of storage for a weekend. Whilst in storage it was damaged twice, and the owner of the site wouldn’t admit liability.......even though he kept moving it around the site. Never put the legs back down etc, so we sold it.

You could live in your van whilst house searching of course.

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[Ian Bosman]

Hi,

Looking for your advice, please. We're relocating to the UK from Spain in a few months and will be bringing our Adria with us. Obviously will need to re-register with DVLA and so on (subject of another thread) but in the process of house-hunting, the question has come up about being allowed to park a 7.3 mtr motorhome on our property. Friends seemed to think that on their estate there are limitations on what property owners can park permanently on their drive. Is this normal/common?

Ideally we want the vehicle on our driveway but if we should have to park elsewhere, what's the typical cost of secure parking?

Many thanks in advance.

Some local authority ban the parking of motorhomes and caravan of people’s property, fortunately for me Birmingham does not. But, it is also the case that a covenant is in place on the property you buy which also bans them so while buying you need to check via the solicitor who should be able to clarify both cases.

 

[Ian Bosman]

My daughter has had serious problems with otherwise friendly neighbours because she parked a VW camper on the drive.

"It blocks our light"; "it spoils our view"; "it's against the covenants"; "it's an eyesore".

In reality, houses are well spaced detached buildings in a close. The complainant is 30metres away. The van is only a couple of years old and in excellent condition.

It almost reached the stage of solicitors letters but the Estate Management Committee decided to not back the neighbour after my daughter paid landscapers to alter her front garden so that the van was slightly less prominent.

Take care - Gordon

Both my neighbours are OK with the motorhome on the front but one of them is very worried that when I drive it off the driveway that I hit his car despite me being able to see the corners of the motorhome clearly in the monitor for one of my cameras. But we get on, in fact the other neighbour welcomes it as it means to them generally that we are around

 

[TerryL]

Although it is possible for us to "store" our 7m van on the drive, it's only there when we are preparing to go away or returning, otherwise it's in a secure storage yard around 15mins away - we pay £360 p.a. The neighbours are quite happy, even though there is a covenant which says we cannot store "caravans".

If I could get at the rear of our property, out of general view, I'd make room there as I'd really prefer to have it at home but that's not possible. Having to go fetch it takes away some of the spontaneity of motorhoming.

But our main reason for storing it "away" is that no-one (including some neighbours) knows if we are away or not.

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[Pausim]

Out of interest the covenants were enforced by who.

Neighbouring owners who claimed the benefit of the covenants. I can’t say any of them related to caravans and motorhomes, more often about limiting development but I guess the principle is sound.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

My last house had a covenant, dated 1924, clearly stating that the property must not be used for the selling of chipped and fried potatoes!
Just to be safe, we observed the covenant strictly

 

[Geo]

Personally as i have done is find a suitable property with gated rear land to park on
does not have to be a big plot ours is a very modest 2 bed bungalow but with the biggest footprint on the estate room for
2 motor homes and 4 cars behind gates and two cars in front on the drive, best of both worlds

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[Hils and Glenns]

£320pa near Knaresborough. Hardstanding in secure compound.

Can you tell me where this is please. Perhaps in a PM. We've had a bit of trouble with a neighbour re our van being parked on our drive. We live quite near Knaresborough so this might be a solution.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Not yet. Only just sold the house here and will complete - hopefully - late April/early May. Moving back to stay with family first and then start the house search in earnest. That said, must have viewed 300 or more online this weekend LOL!

Don’t buy new unless they remove restrictive covenants.

older estates, If some of the houses have caravans, motorhomes. Might be ok.

do no buy a house with shared Access/drive/easements

 

[davidbaldam]

The problem with parking outside your home is that people know when your away.

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[gus-lopez]

Last new house we bought off plan had covenants for everything. No chickens or washing out the front . No satellite dishes mounted on front of the house.
No commercial vehicles , whether sign written , plain or vans with windows. No caravans, boats or trailers of any description. No vehicles that were not fully road legal ( this to cover the banger racers). no farm vehicles or attachments.
First house we bought in a close of only 23 in a village that had been built in the 70's you had covenants stopping you changing windows??

 

[Red Shoes]

My last house had a covenant, dated 1924, clearly stating that the property must not be used for the selling of chipped and fried potatoes!
Just to be safe, we observed the covenant strictly

My first property also had a restrictive covenant - forbidding the extraction of gravel. As mine was a first floor flat that would have been interesting!

 

[Geo]

Personally as i have done is find a suitable property with gated rear land to park on
does not have to be a big plot ours is a very modest 2 bed bungalow but with the biggest footprint on the estate room for
2 motor homes and 4 cars behind gates and two cars in front on the drive, best of both worlds

Should add we have to sleep standing up in a wardrobe

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