# House deeds say no MH



## Moledrain (Sep 20, 2006)

Hi all,

Our new MH will be ok parked where it is going on our drive and will not be in any one else's face.
We're looking to downsize to a smaller house but want somewhere where we can still park the van without upsetting any neighbour's visual amenity 

We found just the place but when we mentioned the MH the vendor said there was a covenant on the whole cul-de-sac of nine bungalows forbidding caravans, MH's, etc. This development is about 30 years old and I was surprised the restriction had been put in place back then.

Is the banning of 'vans on deeds becoming widespread, I do hope not?

Moley


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## bigfoot (May 16, 2005)

Restrictive Covenants were used at one time when the planning regulations were not as robust as nowadays. A solicitor should be able to advise on having it cancelled. A major factor is the human rights element. If you were a keen yatchtsman what would you do if it prevented keeping your boat? Or you were a philatalist and were prevented from keeping a stamp album? Thats human rights.


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

Not sure they would have a leg to stand on banning MH's as they are/ can be your only transport, I would see it in writing first then as bigfoot suggests get a solicitors view.


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

I too have noticed how many properties have covenants preventing mh owners parking their own vehicles on their own drives.

I suppose these were put in place on modern properties to prevent old caravans / motorhomes being put on drives and making it harder for the housing company to sell the remainder of a development off.


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## tokkalosh (May 25, 2006)

I found out the other day that the deeds of the house I rent in a small cul-de-sac state that there are to be no caravans, boats or commercial vehicles parked outside. It may well also state motorhomes, I do not know. So far no-one has said anything so I shall not pursue it.


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## G2EWS (May 1, 2006)

Hi Moley,

A lot of these clauses in deeds will often be for vehicles or items that are in front of the line of the house. What this means is that as long as the MH is by the side or back of the house there should be no problem.

Cannot guarantee this, but it used to be very common.

Regards

Chris


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2007)

nukeadmin said:


> I suppose these were put in place on modern properties to prevent old caravans / motorhomes being put on drives and making it harder for the housing company to sell the remainder of a development off.


This tends to be the reason. There is a posh development a few miles up the A19 from us at Wynyard where rich people like premiership footballers live. Householders are not allowed to put out washing lines in their back gardens in case it lowers the tone.

As regard human rights, I don't think that argument would succeed as the covenant would be a term of the house sale or rental contract freely entered into. Also, the HRA applies only to public bodies so if it was the original builder who imposed the covenant then it would not be subject to the HRA.

Graham


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

There is a brand new developement next me that has the no caravans, vehicles designed for living or works vehicles. And guess what, there are two caravans already.

My house has a similar covenenant I suspect. The only covenenant that affected me when I moved in was I was not allowed to operate a business from it. There were others but I didn't really take note as at the time they didn't affect me. I really ought to check on that.

Although my next door neighbour has had a caravan parked on his back garden for 10+ years lol

Karl


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

You should also be aware that local government has defined a 'caravan' in a general enough manner to include a motor caravan or motorhome within the definition.

Here is a thread where this was mentioned before>Here<

and here is the definition from the LGFA 1988: "Caravan means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted, "

then follows a list of exceptions none of which concern a motorhome.

Regards Frank


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

I am happy to stand corrected, but I suspect the deeds of the house cannot restrict parking on a public road. Silly really - better visually for the caravan/MH to be parked on the premises than on the road outside.

We had problems with one neighbour. He even reported us to the Police for parking near his house. We have a residents parking permit and are fully legal as confirmed by the very pleasant police officer who told us not to worry. The only worry was if the neighbour decided to take direct action. I shouldn't really say it, but he can't take action now - he died 8O 

Sue


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

At the end of the day a motorhome is a licensed road vehicle. If anyone complains you can explain that you have two options. Either you can park the vehicle as unobtrusively as possible on your property or leave it on the road legitimately. From the point of view of appearance the van would clearly be better parked on your property.

The other point is that covenants are extremely difficult and expensive to enforce. I live on a road where properties range from 30 to 70 years old and are priced at up to around £1m (though not mine) and about 15 of the properties have motorhomes parked in their drives even though there are covenants which are supposed to prevent such arrangements.

So, if you have seen a house you like I would buy it. and not let the theoretical banning of motorhomes put you off.


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## Moledrain (Sep 20, 2006)

Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread, especially to Frank who pointed out a previous airing of this subject.

The property in question is amongst others of which nary a blade of grass is out of place, cars are in garages and the largely open plan area very 'looked after', which is what attracted us towards buying there. Being a born worrier I don't want any ill feeling directed towards us as newcomers and would hope that friendly neighbours would be more likely to keep an eye on our place while we're away in the 'van. I sense in this case someone would complain as I would be setting a precedent

As we've only just begun our downsizing search, we're giving this place a miss and see what else pops up. Getting agents to only tell us about MH friendly properties would be start.

Regards,

Moley


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## 96783 (Nov 23, 2005)

We had a covenant in our previous house deeds which banned trailers, commercial vehicles, caravans et al. The previous owner had a double gate into the garden and parked his Transit van there and a trailer. We bought the property precisely because we could securely park our van within the curtilage of the property. When we saw the deeds during the preamble to purchase we asked our solicitor to have that covenant and two others removed. He did so!


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

Also, you will find out if and when you speak to your solicitors that any legal action will have to be taken against you by the builders. This means that anyone that objects has to track down the original builders and spend money to start litigation against you. Before this happens the usual barrage of letters etc has to occur.. In short the builders have to be in business/still alive and have to have the inclination and the money to take you to court. 

The advice is I believe that local authorities may lump together caravans and motorhomes in one convenient group, but, as has already been pointed out, a motorhome is a road legal, insured vehicle which is why, there is very little chance of a court upholding a covenant. 

" Excuse me MeLud Can you tell this man that bought an 'ouse that me farfer build 32 years ago, to stop parking on his drive, and park on the road instead" The lady down the road dont like it"

Also not a betting man but I would give you odds that the deeds do not mention motorhome/motorcaravan they just were not considered 30 odd years ago! saying caravan and pointing at a modern motorhome is simply not good enough in the eyes of the law. 

OR is it enough to put an A frame on the front of a motorhome and turn it into a caravan? In which case, putting an A frame on the front of a car MUST TURN IT INTO A TRAILER  Ha Ha Proof at last 

ps What does "off topic mean"? 8O


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## ambegayo (Jan 7, 2007)

*House deeds say no motorhome*

There is not one covenant that would stand scrutiny in a court of law regarding the parking of a motorhome on one,s own drive. The motorhome is classed as a PLG(Private Light Goods) and is the same as a motor car .You are legally entitled to park your motorhome on your drive as you are your car. To the lady who would not buy a house in a posh aera for fear of upsetting the neighbours-go and ask and tell them that you own a motorhome and that you will be parking it on your drive. Politely tell them,if they object,that which I have outlined above. Most people are more understanding than one might think! For Caravan owners
the matter is somewhat different as obviously it is not a motor vehicle but elsewhere in this forum the matter has been quite rightly stated that the original builder would have to be contacted first. Can you imagine the court costs involved ! Be sensible and talk to your neighbours but above all know your rights and stick to them!


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## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

OK – I might be getting a bit pedantic here and slightly OT but I think planning law says that you can’t have more than one caravan or motorhome (counts the same) on the same site without planning permission. And I think there is also something which says you even need planning permission if there is a caravan or motorhome on an adjoining plot (ie your neighbour has one!)

I know we are only talking about one MH here but the thread also covers peoples rights to park on their own property.

I think I read or heard this somewhere – I don’t think it was just a bad dream 8O If anyone knows if this is true or not I would like to hear. Doesn’t affect me at the moment but it might if I ever towed a caravan with a panel van conversion.

Paul


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## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

gelathae said:


> At the end of the day a motorhome is a licensed road vehicle. If anyone complains you can explain that you have two options. Either you can park the vehicle as unobtrusively as possible on your property or leave it on the road legitimately. From the point of view of appearance the van would clearly be better parked on your property.


I think that's astute, and would be the angle I'd take. You're entitled as you say to park your licensed vehicle on the road. 

Dougie.


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## 101405 (Oct 15, 2006)

*no parking*

Its normal for caravans ect to be banned. why not use a caravan storage area. its off road and out the way. and locked up. cost 200-300 per year


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Several of the posts seem to imply there is a god given right to park your MH on a public road. Well normally there is no problem as long as there are no parking restrictions etc but it could be considered an obstruction especially if on the large side. Also with residents parking schemes you need to look carefully at the small print. Its local authorities that administer these schemes and guess what they write into the small print.............. (sometimes  )

Also once your vehicle is off the public road parked in your drive or whatever its the planning regulations that come into play. Again with most places no problem but given the local government definition of a caravan there is room for shall we say complications.

Before anyone accuses me of just hot air I should say that it cost me a tidy sum to make an off road parking space for my van (retaining walls etc - well over £10k) and during the process of getting the permits for a dropped curve with the local authority it came up when I casually said it was for a motorhome as they were helping me with the forms. When I said it well really its only a private panel van up to 6m in length they quickly lost interest.

Regards Frank


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

*Re: no parking*



silversurfa said:


> Its normal for caravans ect to be banned. why not use a caravan storage area. its off road and out the way. and locked up. cost 200-300 per year


Because I like the convenience of having the motorhome parked on the drive,makes it easy for maintenance,cleaning,and packing before a trip.Also we have had more single days out-if the weathers good just drive away to your favourite local beauty spot without a second thought.

As the forecast is excellent we are going into the Derbyshire dales today and may stop overnight somewhere,all we have to do is pack clothes,food,fill the water tank and then we are away.

Interesting thread this,I think the majority of contributors keep or would like to keep their m/home on their property,and it seems that legally they are entitled to do it despite the covenants.I agree though that it is best to consult the neighbours first,you don't want to make enemies of them.

Steve


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## krull (Jul 22, 2006)

*Re: no parking*



silversurfa said:


> Its normal for caravans ect to be banned. why not use a caravan storage area. its off road and out the way. and locked up. cost 200-300 per year


We have always said that if we were not able to park ouside the house, we would not bother with a m/h.

Servicing and repairs.
Cleaning inside and out.
Packing and unpacking.
keeping batteries charged and dehimidifiers in winter.
fettling
security.
spur of the moment and overnight trips

All of the above becomes so much more difficult if it is 15 miles away


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

krull - fine unless you live in a terraced property on a main road with double yellow lines outside the front door. Bit expensive to move just for the sake of the MH :roll: 

Sue


(edited 'cos I don't know the colour of the lines!)


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## krull (Jul 22, 2006)

Suenliam said:


> krull - fine unless you live in a terraced property on a main road with double yellow lines outside the front door. Bit expensive to move just for the sake of the MH :roll:
> 
> Sue
> 
> (edited 'cos I don't know the colour of the lines!)


Point taken.

When we used to live in a terraced house, we used to park our vw camper outside the house. I would not have felt comfortable leaving it outside someone elses though. But a coachbuilt would have been a bit much.

However i know plenty of people who use storage but have the room at home.


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## doccyb (Oct 3, 2007)

There have been lots of entries on this topic but surely the key point is that no-one has reported a *successful* court action to enforce a covenant forbidding motorhomes on driveways !


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