Buying house - homeless outside

[Whatinthedoopla]

Hi,

I'm buying a house, and opposite the garden is the community car park. Area is lovely, people are lovely. However, I've noticed thpere has been a van parked right outside the garden (obviously in a parking space), and has been there for weeks. I thought nothing of it, then saw they they open the door and it looks like people live in it! And they look homeless, I saw they legs popping out of the van.

The house has now been emptied, and I'm worried that the homeless people are going into the garden to get water from the tap outside.

My partner isn't worried, but I am, or AIBU?

What should I do?

Absolutely 100% this.
What a horrible thread.

Turn the outside tap off from inside if you are not using it. And report to the council. Presumably over night parking isn’t allowed.

You can buy tap locks. Our outside tap is out the front and it's something I have considered.

Contact Shelter to see if they need help (they have branches in Wales and Scotland)

https://england.shelter.org.uk/

Plenty of people living in vans or boats work full time, often in occupations like care or education. They’re just priced out of a shitshow of a rental market that wants insane deposits and £700+ a month for a shoebox room. And that’s in places where the housing stock hasn’t fallen victim to Airbnb and second home ownership.
Maybe try talking to them before assuming?

@Whatinthedoopla Yes.
"Hi, I work near xxx street and saw rats running along the gutter there."
You dont have to give your name/address (at least I didn't when I twice reported rough camping. Lo and behold the rough sleepers were removed.
Zero guilt.

To report a stationary vehicle...my council required 8 days after notification before they removed an abandoned vehicle. So report it asap.

The "One broken window" approach worked in NYC.

Why not just talk to them? They are fellow Human Beings

It sounds like at the moment you haven’t seen any evidence of them using the tap, or coming past the property boundary - is that right? If so I think you are slightly letting your imagination run away with you.

More generally I think it’s worth considering as you are, before you buy. In my area there is one “van life” couple in a Transit; I only know of them because I run a food bank and they came to introduce themselves and ask about volunteering! Otherwise I’d have been past their van daily and not noticed a thing. But - if suddenly there were ten / twenty / fifty vans with occupants doing the same thing - I do think it would be a problem, and very likely there would be a cohort of people who weren’t as good at cleaning up after themselves etc. There is an area of Bristol where this has happened, and the newspaper reports paint a grim picture.

For me: one van, fine. But try and assess whether there is something about the area which would make it particularly attractive to more van lifers turning up.

You are being a but hysterical here, they are no more a threat to your little kids than your new neighbours will be, who presumably will have a much clearer view of your garden from their upstairs windows if they wanted to peep at them.

Once you move in you can put a tap lock on and secure your gate. They are not going to be coming in when people are living there and you don't appear to have any proof they are coming in now. It's not a van full of criminals, they are just people who are living in a van either through choice or because they have fallen on hard times. They will move on at some point.

Ask the estate agent to turn the water stop cock off and see if they move.

I hope they are ok and find somewhere to live.

Just to make it crystal clear - you’ve seen a van parked in a car park for a week. You’ve seen a pair of legs. And you’ve never seen them going into the bounds of the property or using water…or peeking through gates. But you’ve already run ahead to them trespassing, squatting in the house and stealing utilities.

Look, buying a house and moving is majorly stressful and can lead to some pretty crazy thinking - maybe dial back on the catastrophising and instead have a chat with the neighbours. Deal with things as they are, not as you’re fearful they might be at some point in the future.

Lots of people are choosing this lifestyle.

Chances are they are parking there because they’ve not been caught and there’s less antisocial behaviour etc, rather than it having to do with the house.

If they are using the outside tap then they’ll stop once people move in.

Put a lock on the gate and if anyone does try and go in, then report them.

Honestly, this would not worry me in the slightest.

Careful OP. If you’re going past and peeping at them that often, they may have noticed you and be worried that you want to steal their water. 😉

TBH I'd be more bothered about how they are disposing of their "effluent". Even if they have a PortaPotty they have to empty it somewhere.....

How committed are you to buying this house? If living near a vanlifer is a concern, back out. I would not personally like to live with a van very close to my garden, but I wouldn’t have anything against the individual, it’s just a case of whether it would affect my privacy.

They are likely to have chosen van life and although technically it is not allowed, the car park is a convenient place to park up without hassle. Why don’t you speak to them and go from there?

This is MN. You should obviosuly give the hosue to the homeless person and buy yourself a new one.

I find the attitude of people in this country worrying. The number of time people equate homeless with threatening. It’s rude, unempathic and stuck up. God forbid this could happen to any of us.

Are you usually this anxious? You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions without any evidence.

You haven't bought the house yet?. It isn't your problem till you own it. I would just tell your lawyers to tell the sellers to keep an eye on things.

Does the garden have a fence?
Add a ring door bell
Turn the tap off.

If you are comfortable there's no antisocial behaviour I'm not sure what the issue is.

If you are buying ensure you have insurance from point of exchange.

Since you mentioned the area is lovely and people are nice, maybe ask a neighbour discreetly if the van is a known presence. Sometimes communities are already aware and okay with people parked nearby.

If you do see trespassing or any damage, you can report it to the local council or police non-emergency line. But it sounds like you’re not there yet.

This is so strange, vanlifers are a thing, a trend, I've contemplated selling up and living in a van many a time, it looks like a great adventure.
I would personally head to somewhere more beautiful than a carpark but they have probably parked near your new house because they think it looks like a safe area.
I've never once equated it to being homeless (some of these vans are easily 80k) or bad people, I see people living an free and adventurous lifestyle while the rest of us juggle bills and cleaning!
Not sure where your judgemental behaviour has stemmed from but try to have a more open mind.

Report to the council's homelessness team to make sure that they are getting the right support. If the van is by choice rather than homelessness, then it is up to the car park owner to enforce whether they are allowed to park there or not.

As for coming onto your property, if he is and it continues after your move in, then you ask him to stop.

Get a tap lock
Report van to council for being parked overnight/long stay.
Get a garden gate with a lock.