Static Caravan on site... Process & Potential Issues?

[HanleeHouse]

Hi Guys. Our build is probably going to cost more than we were originally planning, so we are thinking of selling our current home to release all of the equity to put towards the build. 

 

We are buying the land outright from savings and was planning on taking a mortgage from Ecology for the build. 

 

We're thinking to buy a 3 bed static caravan to put on site. 

 

Anyone know the rules and regs for putting such structure on site during the build? Do I need temporary permission, or just go for it. I'm only planning on it being there for 3-4 months. Council tax etc? 

 

Then secondly, as we're planning on getting the mortgage, would moving just before applying for a mortgage be an issue? Would they understand the situation? (Planning on speaking them tomorrow for advice) 

 

Many Thanks

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by HanleeHouse

[Tom]

Hi, have you got planning permission yet? If not, just include sentence in the application along the lines of "We also seek permission to site a caravan on the plot for the duration of the build to serve as a temporary reidence for ourselves". Or words to that effect. Otherwise you will have to apply for permission separately.

No idea re the mortgage, but I've always found Ecology very approachable so I'm sure they can answer all your questions. Good luck!

[Temp]

The planners will normally grant permission for a temporary static van if you apply with or after planning permission for a house. If you apply before they may worry you are trying to set up a caravan/traveller site.

 

My understanding is that you don't actually need planning permission if everyone living in the van is a site worker. So if you and your partner are both going to be physically working on the house then you might not need planning permission. However you may yave to prove that so it might avoid hassle from the planners if you do apply with the application for your house. Children cannot be site workers. There may also be HSE issues if children can play in the site.

[JohnMo]

We never asked for permission, as we got the caravan with the site, so assumed it was ok. And it's a temporary building as such. The council assessed it for council tax and we now pay council tax on that, once we get house sign off that will revert to main house.  We are private water a sewage treatment, so that was deleted from the council tax bill.

[Barryscotland]

We lived in one for two years, my advice would be buy a double glazed and central heated one, Ours was single glazing and no heating, wasn't a very pleasant experience in the winter time. We did save a lot of money over the 2 years we lived in it and we got more for the static than we paid for it when the time came to sell it on. 

 

We did have to pay band A council tax.

You will need a good window vacuum for all the condensation. 

[Bitpipe]

14 hours ago, JohnMo said:

We never asked for permission, as we got the caravan with the site, so assumed it was ok. And it's a temporary building as such. The council assessed it for council tax and we now pay council tax on that, once we get house sign off that will revert to main house.  We are private water a sewage treatment, so that was deleted from the council tax bill.

 

Very much what we did. We got a bargain from a local park (insurance write off but completely sound) and dropped it in the back garden a year before the build commenced, only connecting it to services before moving in at which point we started paying council tax @ band A.

 

May make a difference wrt PP if it's visible from street.

 

When we moved into the new build, the CT continued at 50%, even after it was disconnected from services and the planners were keen to see it off site asap, as were we.

 

1 hour ago, Barryscotland said:

We lived in one for two years, my advice would be buy a double glazed and central heated one, Ours was single glazing and no heating, wasn't a very pleasant experience in the winter time. We did save a lot of money over the 2 years we lived in it and we got more for the static than we paid for it when the time came to sell it on. 

 

We did have to pay band A council tax.

You will need a good window vacuum for all the condensation. 

 

Agree, double glazing and insulation are a must.

 

We solved the condensation problem by using a dehumidifier (tip from another static owner). As the heating, hot water and cooking are all LPG, this generates a lot of water vapour (plus the inhabitants) which condenses out at night onto the cold floor making everything feel damp. 

 

The dehumidifier removed the need for running the gas fire and pumped out a decent amount of heat  - completely changed the comfort levels. As the van is openly ventilated. It's not very efficient and with the current high electricity costs this may be impracticable but we had ours on more or less 24/7.

 

We found summer more uncomfortable than winter as the van heated up quite quickly. 

 

[gaz_moose]

is it worth it for 3 months?  id weigh up the transport costs / VS just renting a small place for the duration.