Living in a static caravan?

[Yorkymidge]

Forgive me for my naivety first and foremost and sensible answers only please.

So here goes,

When i was 4 months pregnant, my partner lost his job due to the company not making sufficient funds and therefore having to close. As you can imagine, this was extremely stressful given the circumstances and he has subsequently been unsuccessful in finding another job, no matter what tactic he tries. This has left us being unable to afford our rented home on his monthly universal credit and my weekly SMP, seemingly i earn too much from my wage, even though i worked part time and only earned £214 a week previously before maternity leave, so we have been living with my parents since my baby was born (3 months ago).

My parents are in ill health and wanting to retire but say they can’t afford to retire until they can down-size their house and they can’t whilst we’re living with them. We both feel guilty about the burden but just can’t afford to move out.

Now, i’m sorry for the lengthy post but we thought about the idea of living in a static caravan. I have looked into this deeply and came across a few stumbling blocks. It appears that you can’t buy a caravan on finance without owning/renting a home as it can’t be your main residence. The only residential parks are generally for the over 50’s and the ones that aren’t, you have to buy a mobile home which is upwards of £90,000 - in which case i may as well try for a house mortgage deposit instead. I have found some 11/12 month holiday parks but as i say, there are “holiday” and i have contacted them and they said that there is an unlimited time that i can use the caravan, as long as i annually prove my home address.

My question is, if the caravan was to be in my parents name and their address on the payment. Would they be able to “lend” me the caravan, if i’m paying the bills etc and stay with them for the one month a year that it’s closed, and me saying that is still my residential address as technically, it still will be? I can’t find the answer to this anywhere and don’t want to be doing anything illegal but we’re really struggling now.

PS (yes i know how cold caravans can get during winter, we had one for a holiday previously so i also know the cost of bills)

I’d really appreciate some advice.
Thank you.

Are you not eligible for council housing? Or HA? Wouldn’t that be better than a caravan?

@myfoolishboatisleaning

If you’d of read my post, we’re really struggling with proving entitlement to anything else as apparently i earn too much (which is nonsense)

Yes, it would be a better option but i don’t feel like it is possible right now, hence the caravan post. A lot of things would be “better”.

Council and housing association eligibility is nothing to do with income.

@tabulahrasa well the council housing in my local area has left us waiting since summer with no luck so far and the benefits system is not accepting us for housing allowance, even though technically we should be entitled. We’ve been going round in circles with them for months now.

More to the point, that is not the question i was asking. I’d like some help on the caravan please.

I don't know much sorry, but have you have looked into annual fees that occur too?

I know a few people who have chosen them as a cheaper option but have been stung by the ground rent type fees.

I lived in a caravan as a child for about 6 months, it was cold, damp, miserable and you come down with things like chest infections all the time... and that was in spring to late autumn, not full on winter.

So I’d be encouraging my DPs to downsize and presenting myself as homeless at the council if I were you...

I can't see any reason why not, OP. If they buy the caravan and you live in it, (paying them rent presumably) it's no one else's business, surely? You might even find you're entitled to housing benefit (or the UC equivalent).

And yes there are site fees, but a MB can be warm and comfortable. My dp would live in one like a shot!

Will there be room for you to live with your parents for the month or two that you would have to leave the caravan, if they’ve downsized?

We have a static caravan and my PIL & GPIL live on the site permanently - PIL live in a lodge and GPIL in a disabled adapted static. Our next door neighbours on the site live here too, they are a couple in their 30s. They all have to be off site at least 28 days a year though.

I have a 9 month old and although we love our static, I couldn't live in it full time with her. Ours is large and it's still not enough room. DH wanted to move permanently but I said no and I'm glad.

Other things to consider:

• even if you bought a brand new one, it will age and site owners want caravans refreshing every so often so the site isn't full of old looking vans. So you'd be looking at a huge sum of money every 10 (or more/less) years depending on site owner policy
• site fees - where I am is nearly 4K a year so cheaper than rent etc. But still a cost to consider
• gas and electric aren't cheap, especially when it takes a lot to heat. We have central heating and go through a lot of gas bottles, which are £70 each time
• you are the mercy of site owners really, we're lucky because ours is great and a friend of PIL

There is a lady on site who lives her with her primary school daughter and has done since she was a baby, they love it. They do have one of the 90k vans though so it's nicer than most people's houses!

Yes your parents could register for it etc. But if you have that amount of money upfront to buy one, then you might as well spend it on a house deposit when you're in a better position for a mortgage.

Keep on at the council would be my advice.

@ballooningmum yes i have, thank you. Luckily i’ve managed to find some sites which have lower rates and include water/maintenance.

@tabulahrasa i’m not asking for your opinion on my situation, i was merely asking about the legalities of caravan living. I have stayed in a caravan for a long period of time myself as a child and as an adult (albeit on holiday for a couple of months) and no, that wasn’t in the summer either, so i am comfortable with caravan living and aware of the pros and cons. Newer models actually have good insulation and an added cost to additional suppliers can intensify this, it’s not like living in a tin box anymore and if it was, i doubt it would be so popular amongst families.

@Singlenotsingle thanks so much for your response. That’s what i was hoping, but there seems to be no advice anywhere and i’ve researched deeply! I feel like my only other option would be to ask the site owners themselves but i don’t want them to turn around and say that they’re not residential and therefore it’s illegal which i have a strong feeling that they will! I feel like i’m losing hope

@HastaLaVistaPrint yes don’t worry, i’ve thought about it! My parents currently own quite a large home which they bought when my dad had a high income. They both now have low income jobs and when they retire would want to down size to a 2/3 bedroom and said they would happily accommodate us should we need it - they have been amazing, it’s just a shame that we’re a financial burden. We wouldn’t be able to permanently live in their smaller house, it wouldn’t be fair to - plus we would love our own space! But for a few weeks a year then it is very possible.

@SherlockSays thank you so much for your help and advice. I would more than likely be getting the caravan on finance (albeit in their name) and paying them monthly costs almost like renting, although cheaper. So is it definitely legal to do things that way? Or is it at the site owners discretion? I’m at my wits end at the minute and trying to tie everything together! Your comments have been so useful though.

Op if your parents were to evict you, you would then be homeless and the council would need to home you as you cannot afford to home youtselves on your income.

I would ask my parents to evict you if I was you.

We have a holiday static, have to pay for insurance, site fees, rates, the cost of calor gas bottles. Also electricity can be high as well. Ours has central heating. Nowhere to plumb in a washing machine although this possibly is possible in newer vans. So you would need an on site laundry or access to washing machine. Ours has a decked area so that is a bonus. Lots for you to consider.

Get some proper financial advise

@Yorkymidge I would say it would be at the owner's discretion and I'd probably say that they'd prefer someone on site than no one so I don't think it would be an issue.

What about when your child is school age - you would need a permanent address for the application so would you use your parents? Would the van be very near your parents?

Or is this more of a temporary thing?

I should imagine that if they would have you for the month where you need to be off site you could manage it. Or perhaps try and get a deal with a B&B which might not be too busy that time of year.

Are you looking for work? Could you not get a job and leave DD with her father if he can't find anything? I had to go back when DD was 4 months old as we could not have managed on DH salary. It was really hard at the time but we had no choice at the time.

*Op if your parents were to evict you, you would then be homeless and the council would need to home you as you cannot afford to home youtselves on your income.

I would ask my parents to evict you if I was you.*

I second this. My parents had a caravan, then site fees kept increasing so they had to give it up. Vans depreciate quite quickly in value so you are unlikely to see your money back. If your parents decide to sell / recall their loan in a few years to pay for care or something, you'll be back to square one.

Get your parents to write a letter saying you can no longer stay, take this with a suitcase to the housing office. You may have to stick it out in a b&b / emergency accomodation etc for a bit. I'd also recommend citizens advice for help with your benefit entitlement.
Can your partner widen his job search? Even a minimum wage position until you are back on your feet?

You need to get some proper benefits and housing before you do anything.

Your "partner's" universal credit should be a joint claim and if your income was as described would have included help towards housing costs. This is capped at the local housing allowance which may have caused the problem (rather than your earnings). You won't be eligible now you are living with parents.

As others have said above, if your parents say you have to leave, you should be able to access affordable housing via the homelessness app process. This is likely to be a better solution for you than the caravan idea.

Lots of people do but you may be better renting one on a farm or the like. Generally my experience of them is that they come with the job for agricultural workers. You may need to get an appropriate job with it.

the main issue with living on a holiday site in a caravan owned by someone else is you will be classed as no fixed abode - you wont be able to register there for anything such as benefits doctors schools credit etc as officially you dont live there - people do it but its complicated - dearer than you think - not a permanent solution

Look for HA that don't run through the council waiting list, most areas have a few that don't. The only way living in a static caravan would be viable long term would be if you knew someone with a piece of land for you to site it on, not a caravan site but maybe a farm or something like that.