Would this annoy you too? I'm sure it isn't allowed...

[TruJay]

The house next door was repossessed about 2 years ago and stayed empty for a long time. It was bought by a family, mum, dad and I think 3 children around 6-8 months ago. At first the family would come up to the house every couple of days or so and do bits and bobs at the house (it needs a bit of work) but have never actually moved in.

We have talked briefly, said hi, the usual. They always say they'll be moving in in two weeks but it's still months later and no furniture has been moved in and no one is living there.

About 3 months ago cars started to appear on the driveway and at the moment there are 4 (we have large driveways) the cars are clearly bought at auction as they have the writing on the windows of dates/price etc.

So now the house looks like a garage with deliveries of car parts, beaten up cars on the drive and loads of people turning up for their cars valeting, fixing etc.

Sometimes the home owner is not there and it's just his friends.

It looks a mess, the noise is driving me mad, hammering at half 9 at night last night so went out and asked them to be quiet which they did but with a snappy response. He later came round to apologise for snapping and asked if we could agree a time when noise has to stop to which I said the kids are in bed at 7 and he replied "so it's ok to be as noisy as we want til 7 yeh?" I replied no, it isn't. I don't want to listen to constant noise especially when it isn't even the home owner but his random mates.

The guy said that "well I have a business to run"
Surely this isn't allowed though, you can't just buy a house, make it look as if you are moving in you and your family and then actually just use it at junkyard/garage.

I don't want to listen to bikes/quads/cars revving through the day up to and after 9 at night.

I've read up online and there are lots of things in place that is needed to change a residential property into a business and that a car garage due to noise, mess etc will not be granted so I know they don't have any permission as it says letters will be sent to neighbouring properties.
I think they are testing to see what they can get away with, trying to sort it myself before going to council.

The guy just can't see that we worked our ass off to buy our house in a quite place and when DH has worked all week we don't want our evenings and weekends disturbed.

I'm sure it's great having somewhere to store all this crap and carry out all the noisy work and then go back to your tidy quiet house elsewhere but it's not right and I'm sure this isn't allowed by what I've read online.

Sorry that was long.

AIBU?

My house is leasehold i.e pay ground rent. In the restrictive covenant the freeholder does not allow for commercial vehicles to be parked outside properties on or the drives. Do you have anything like this relating to your property?

"With appropriate licensing and regulation in place."

This must have been brought in in the last few years, then, as motor trade road risks policies were previously available to anyone who operated on a full or part time basis from home, no licensing or regulation required, the only caveat being that accounts would be kept.

damnautocorrect it wouldn't be as bad if he was just storing them although it doesn't look nice with several beaten up cars on the drive but I know I can't really do anything about someone owning a lot of cars and keeping them at their home.

It's the noise and him being insistent that he's allowed to do up cars at his home and has openly admitted "he has a business to run" so is selling them on. It is not a hobby and is a business and the thing that annoys me the most is that he isn't even the homeowner!

And it does sound petty but the constant whirring of a professional valeting machine is enough to drive you mad!

I don't know whether the cars/premises have appropriate insurance, wouldn't think so as planning said there is no permission in place for business use.

I have previously googled the business name after receiving the parcel but couldn't find anything only a link to a page about a garage in another part of town but don't know if they were anything to do with one another. Will do another search.

Thank you for replies

I don't think it's petty at all, TruJay ~ noisy neighbours are a very special kind of hell

My brothers used to sell second hand cars - they did have a car lot but didn't make money at it (probably because they spent too long playing with them and not enough time selling them!)
Now they sell the odd one from a residential address - it is a kind of hobby...(they change cars a lot and like 'tinkering' with them - I think its odd but they seem to enjoy it)
Anyway they still have trade insurance ...from residential addresses. It isn't cheap but apparently cheaper than changing it every time they change car etc and means they can drive each others - in fact any car - and be insured.

Penguin they have recently really tightened up on it, I know a few who can't physically get a policy as they are in their first few months of self employment. I'm sure you remember when I 'work on a few cars on my drive' could get you one but not now.
As for the database "I've forgotten my login, can you just put these on for me?"
Is that sounding familiar?!

op I kind of think it's irrelevant about the traders policy, you need to get onto the council about the environment issues and business from home issue.
I would think he is planning on moving in at some point, as I can't imagine a house being cheaper than land to keep cars on.

Oh gosh a constant jet wash would be enough to have me rocking in a corner alone! Your not being unreasonable at all about it.

Op if the noise is bothering you, keep a diary of it and also call your council's noise team. They can come and monitor it from your house/garden, then take action. Annoying thing is you have to call them every time it gets noisy. Sounds awful, hope you get somewhere with it all anyway!

"As for the database "I've forgotten my login, can you just put these on for me?"
Is that sounding familiar?!"

Too familiar, Damnautocorrect, too bloody familiar

I'm kind of pleased to hear that they've tightened it up ~ 'back in the day' it was ridiculously open-ended, and subject to a huge amount of abuse/fraud (e.g. people who would take out a road risks policy just so they could get their entire family/random friends covered to drive anything they fancied)

Try and get your local Councillor involved too, OP. Very sadly sometimes these guys make it worth the while of planning officials to turn a blind eye.

UPDATE

After waiting for the return phone call from planning, I received nothing for several weeks until a letter arrived saying that my complaint has been logged and in due course an investigation will take place.
Since we have received this letter all has gone quiet next door just one day of working on the cars and since that just the family coming to the house and doing the garden and painting the outside of the house.
I'm not sure if someone has spoken to them or they've had a letter too but it's nice to have some bloody peace, hoping that this is the end of all the crap.

Thanks again for all your messages. Will update again if anything else happens.

Sounds like council stepped up. Glad you have peace.

I hope you have a permanent solution to this. I don't object to noise from my neighbours. We all have lives to lead.

But constant noise and the disregard for the fact that people live around their 'business' is rude, disrespectful and inconsiderate.

Good luck. You are NOT being petty.

Mum had this. A guy in their road opened a gardening business and ran it from home. Always loads of vans outside the house having trailers attached or just parked blocking the road. The wife was very aggressive. Mum could get to her house and asked them to move and the wife came out and told her to park up and 'bloody walk' mum then pointed out that she was disabled and that wasn't the point. I was less polite than mum when I caught her sticking her fingers up at my mum when we drove past one day.

Mum was in the process of complaining to the council when one of the vans ran into someone. The vans disappeared and the family put their house up for sale. Another neighbour told me the vans insurance wouldn't pay out as he had said the vans were based at his 'yard' and the yard turned out to be the street. Don't know if it's true, but they sold their house at a much reduced rate to go quickly.

Really pleased to hear that op

Good news.