Restrictive Covenant Breach?

[Tigger-Tim]

Our estate has similar covenants. They include aerials and satellite dishes 'visible by someone standing on the road'

The house next to the showhome had a visible satellite dish. And now the developers have moved on, most of the houses have a visible aerial. So I park my PVC on the drive. Nobody seems to mind.

We did have one neighbour who loved stirring trouble. He would say to one neighbour that a different neighbour had been complaining about something. Fortunately, the rest of us got wise to him - unfortunately not until he'd caused a few strained relationships. Our close has been a lot happier since he moved on.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Very interesting reading.

we have had 20 + years of disputes with one of our neighbours over right of way and motorhome parking .

They, now just he and his daughters, sons, grandchildren hate us, despite being good neighbours for the first ten years.

They are ex motorhomers and caravaners.

Then when they sold their last caravan and gave it up, we bought a motorhome. That’s when the shit hit the fan.

It blew up again just the other night. I was changing Mrs. ET’s dressing and deciding wether to take her to A&E whilst she was on the phone to the hospital.

Daughter of neighbour is at the door, with yet another petty complaint.

I’ve kept my cool during 20 years of disputes, arguments them being personal and aggressive. But that night, as my daughter would say “Dad lost his shit”

I am going to detail the saga on here and decide with all you clever and helpful people what to do next.

Neighbours Daughter may even be on here as As during the last argument. She told me she has an old camper that she going to bring, park up awkwardly and block my exit so I can’t get ours out.

But I have more important issues to deal with at the moment .

 

[SIDtheVan]

This topic has been discussed extensively in the past so I’ve assumed that other Funsters may be interested in the outcome in my situation. Others may at some point find themselves in similar circumstances. Here are the headlines:

We bought a new build house (freehold) on a small development in 2023.​

House is in a decent sized plot with a long private driveway tucked away at the farthest point of the development.​

It has an area with hard standing at the side of the garages big enough to accommodate a 9m motorhome - no interference with garages or main driveway and hardly visible from the house, or any one else fro that matter - so ideal which is why we chose it.​

Restrictive covenant clause in place prohibiting parking of 'boats, caravans and commercial vehicles' - obviously I knew this when I bought the property but was unfazed by the wording and didn't even bother to clarify the meaning during conveyancing process.​

M'home been parked on site since mid 2023 (except when use usually 12 - 14 weeks a year).​

Recently been asked to move it by the 'Transferor in Title' who has pointed out the aforementioned parking restriction. (The request has been made entirely at the behest of the Transferor and relates to the intended sale of the final property on the development).​

I rejected this request on account of (in my view) not being in breach of the covenant in question.​

The basis for this rejection was as follows:

• The established legal precedent i.e. the relevant case law Oaktree Motorhomes v HMRC (2017), which rests on the common English language usage of the term ‘caravan’ together with the lack of any relevant legal definition of a ‘caravan’ that could be taken to include vehicles such as ‘motorhomes’, ‘motor caravans’ and ‘camper vans’.
• Other precedents in the form of genuine (redacted) examples of land transfer deeds that have been exchanged since 2017 and which contain clauses specifically prohibiting the parking of vehicles including ‘motorhomes’, ‘motor caravans’ and ‘camper vans’, in addition to the standard / generic clause referring to ‘caravans’. These documents are available to download via the Land Registry. All you need is the exact address for a particular property. In my case I obtained one from a property that I used to own and another from a property that I had previously looked at. In both cases I knew that there were parking restrictions in place that went beyond 'caravans'. The idea behind this was to deal with any possible argument claiming the intention of the covenant rather than the specifics of the actual wording.
• The actual legal definition of a ‘motor caravan’ (the all encompassing DVLA classification for ‘motor homes’ and ‘camper vans') as set out in the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations. This confirms that something that falls within this definition could never be considered as being a subset of the wider term ‘caravan’. This point was also referenced in the aforementioned case law. The idea behind using this was to deal with any suggestion that a vehicle categorised on a V5 document as a 'motor-caravan' is therefore a 'caravan'.

The outcome:

The above points have now been accepted by the Transferor's representatives. The requirement for me to relocate the motorhome has been withdrawn and I now have a letter on file which acknowledges that I am not in breach of the particular covenant and therefore have the right to park a motorhome on the property.

Hey Buddy, you did great here. I am in a postition where i am trying to buy a house and just noticed this 'The title contains a restriction prohibiting certain types of vehicles at the property, including commercialvehicles, caravans, or unroadworthy vehicles.'
I am now wondering if I would be as luck as you to get away with this. Thanks for the inspiration. If you have an further tips, please contact me.

 

[Nanniemate]

Hey Buddy, you did great here. I am in a postition where i am trying to buy a house and just noticed this 'The title contains a restriction prohibiting certain types of vehicles at the property, including commercialvehicles, caravans, or unroadworthy vehicles.'
I am now wondering if I would be as luck as you to get away with this. Thanks for the inspiration. If you have an further tips, please contact me.

Once the developer has sold all properties they don't care ..but only if its freehold

 

[Puddleduck]

Thanks, I wonder if the below clause stating similar vehicles would count?

Not to park any heavy goods vehicle commercial vehicle caravan boat trailer or other similar type of vehicle on any part of the Property (other than within the garage (if any)) or on any part of the Estate (including the Estate Roads the Visitor Parking Spaces and the Allocated Parking Spaces) and not to carry out or allow to be carried out on a commercial basis any vehicle maintenance on any part of the Property or the Estate

You might fall foul of the heavy goods vehicle if the mh is over 3.5 tonnes.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MichaelT]

You might fall foul of the heavy goods vehicle if the mh is over 3.5 tonnes.

It's registered as a motor caravan which I would argue is not an HGV and I think we would all agree is a lorry and probably specifically a big one.

 

[Puddleduck]

It's registered as a motor caravan which I would argue is not an HGV and I think we would all agree is a lorry and probably specifically a big one.

I do understand but if the DVLA have it as a phgv in the taxation class there could be some arguement which could only be tested in court

 

[MichaelT]

I do understand but if the DVLA have it as a phgv in the taxation class there could be some arguement which could only be tested in court

Which I doubt anyone would want to test