Neighbours' motorhome

[BlueFinch2]

Our neighbours intend to permanently park a large motorhome on their driveway. The 20 or so homes in our cul-de-sac are all subject to the same restrictive covenants, one of which prohibits parking ‘boats, caravans or similar’ vehicles in front of the properties. We’ve already raised our concerns with them, highlighting both the covenants and the potential impact on our property value.

The motorhome would be parked in a highly visible part of the estate, detracting from the overall appearance of the area. Additionally, their driveway isn’t large enough to fully accommodate a vehicle of that size, meaning it would significantly overhang the pavement.

We now face a few options: accept the situation, attempt to persuade them to reconsider, or seek legal advice. Advice from others that have been in a similar situation would be particularly helpful.

Thanks. I was told this by my conveyancing solicitor in 2014 . House I was buying had a covenant on it and I asked what would happen if I infringed it. He said it would be up to the person who put the covenant in place, approximately 60 years previously to take action. 🤷‍♀️

Anything that overhangs onto the pavement is clearly unreasonable. It will impeded the public way especially for anyone using a wheelchair or a pram.

@LorettyTen yes you would be a snob for judging other people's choices.
Motorhomes are not eyesores and anyone who has a license is legally entitled to own and drive one wherever they wish.
It overhanging the pavement is not ideal no. But as it hasn't even arrived yet the OP is making a huge assumption based probably on ignorance.

Oh and @LorettyTen you may think you have higher standards but actually do you?
Why do you think you're better than someone because they own a motorhome? Or because they choose to park it on their own property? Why do you feel it is ok to judge other peoples life choices?
To be honest it says far far more about you than anyone else.

Leave them to it its not your business. How do you know it'll hang out into the road. Surely they'll get one the right size for their drive.

I do sympathise OP. Our neighbours opposite had an enormous caravan parked on the road outside their house for months in the summer. We really struggled to get out of our drive. The caravan was up for sale and it did eventually sell but I’m sure lots of our neighbours were really annoyed about it being parked there for so long. I would check the covenants for your house. Ours don’t permit caravans/motorhomes to be parked on driveways or on the road.

What does the RC say exactly? On their property or in front of their property?

I would report to your enforcement team at your planning authority pointing out the covenants, the impact on the area and the fact it will be parking over the pavement. They will have the authority to do something

A house owner can also apply to have a covenant lifted. The Moho owner could try that.

Honestly I’d feel the same; they really are unsightly and not everyone wants it overhanging their home. Essentially they’re being cheap by not putting it on a site. Get everything in writing importantly as you may need it down the line. Speak to your local parish council and see if they can write to them. It may well be a highways issue if it overhangs the main bridge pavement and your district council can ask them to move it. If all else fails I’d speak to a local solicitor and ask them to write to them.

Well, quite. Anyone using the term 'lower standards' immediately outs themselves as a snob.

Me neither.

I don't get the "devaluing property" argument, either. Someone along my road has a Dethleffs Globebus in their drive. They're around £70k new and it's only a year or two old, so the most expensive vehicle in the street, by quite some distance.

It won't be the council as its om private land. Talk about first world problems!

Does boats caravans or similar really cover motor homes. Because that list seems like a list of items that cannot be independently driven on a road so purely storage.

If I was them I’d argue the case my drivable motorhome is no different a van or driven horse box rather than a caravan or boat which are more like trailers or on trailers.

This. The only issue is the potential for it to overhang the pavement, which presumably you don't even know for sure that it will do this. Other than this the only action you should consider taking is to get over yourself.

We owned a huge motorhome, and brought it back to our property to load/unload, fill with water etc. We also had the covenants that forbade caravans, boats and similar things.

I, personally, would never have contravened the covenants - (what we did was allowed, and accepted quite happily by neighbours), and we could accommodate the vehicle on our driveway. However, even if home storage was allowed, I wouldn’t want to see it every day, so I’m sure my neighbours wouldn’t either.

One thing you could perhaps point out to your neighbour is that when the vehicle disappears from their driveway, burglars know that the property is unoccupied. We kept our motorhome in secure storage, which also reduced the insurance cost.

When I was married to my ex, we had one of those, as well!

He had to keep it on the drive, because it was all fitted out with shedloads of expensive tools and stuff, and he had to have it at home because he was on 24 hour call-out one week in 3.

So they will have a few years of fun in it before they shrivel up and die, and you need to spoil that for them? Do you all really stand looking at each others drives so much that this is a real issue?

A bit off topic but you should reverse into your drive and drive off so having a restricted view doesn't matter

OR reverse onto their drive and abandon your car…

Be careful what you wish for. They could always park it on the road instead.

When we renovated our house a few years ago we wanted to add an indoor swimming pool. Our neighbours objected on the grounds that it would be noisy. We withdrew the application and had an outdoor swimming pool instead - we then didn't need planning permission. That was a lot more noisy for them.

We moved into a property that came with covenants - no motor homes, caravans or vans to be parked on driveways or the road. No satellite dishes to be fixed to the front of the house and no trees to be planted in the front garden. We accepted these covenants - so have the other thirty or more residents in their properties. Now some num-nut, who has just moved in, has parked his motor home on his drive and the house next door (they’ve been there for years) has parked a van on the front lawn. If these two morons get away with doing what they like (ignoring the covenants) how soon will others start doing the same? They do lower the tone of the neighbourhood and I certainly wouldn’t buy a property if there were motor homes, caravans and vans parked in driveways.

yeah we're in a conservation area with a restrictive covenant forbidding removing the hedge, putting up a gate... parking a motorhome on your drive.... a motorhome was parked all winter once didn't report fast forward to 2 neighbours removing their hedges, 2 neighbours put up gates, I reported them all and nothing happened 🤷🏽‍♀️

I think someone has far too much time on their hands and just looks for reasons to complain?

How can someone parking a motorhome outside their house effect the value of nearby houses?

Where do you expect them to park it? Do you expect them to get rid of it to keep you happy?

Not RTFT. What’s it parked there for?