Hi long and short is new neighbour moved in and has parked his hightop transit reversed up his drive with ladders on top and all the jargon he does written all over the thing - we have about 4 feet between our driveways but now we cannot see up our street and would have been better building a wall to be honest !!!
Been in my house nearly 17 years and Title Deeds clearly state no vans , caravans etc up your drive and only last year was it agreed that vans could park in the visitors and residents areas in my street .
I would like to know how best to go about having it moved as its a total eyesore and very imposing on our property - as well as taking £15 - £20k of the value of my property .
Can I enforce the title deeds or would I be better trying to approach the subject and see if would be willing to move it into the parking bays ?
My old neighbour who was in the house moved out because of the issue with vans in our estate and then they sell to someone with a van !!!!
Any advice gladly appreciated as its driving me crazy 5 months in and now the light nights are here its an eyesore.

Bit late for April fools aren’t you??

It is easier to start low profile and to crank up the pressure than it is to go in hard ball and then to dumb it down if he proves to be compliant.
I would talk to him and bring up the subject of the rules and regulations of the deeds, and also the impact it is having on your personal life.
Hopefully he will take it on board and you may be able to work something out together and reach a solution that is suitable to both of you. If he refuses to engage or work with you on this problem then either seek advice with other neighbours or with a solicitor.
You have to live next to each other so working out a solution would seem to be the best option if possible, but it does take two to tango for it to work.
Good luck with whatever course of action you take. Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

Many thanks for the advice

Enforcing restrictive covenants is notoriously difficult and extremely expensive.
The only way it can be achieved at a sensible cost is if you take a combined action with any other disgruntled neighbours you may have, equally just as tricky as you have to get this support on the understanding that any monies you can raise between you, are likely not recoverable.
Even if you can successfully raise a collective action and you win, a judge will not award costs so beware.

When house builders/developers write these covenants into deeds, they aren’t thinking about the long term harmonious well being of residents well into the future, they are thinking about making the restrictions work for them in the short term. Basically, they want to sell all of the houses they build without any problems caused by the early adopters.

Unfortunately, the best and cheapest way to resolve your problem is by negotiation with your neighbour. Not ideal but sadly, unless you have very deep pockets and are willing to spend and lose, a lot of money, this is your best option.

Thanks for the advice - In Scotland on the Deeds they are called Real Burdens and can be imposed either by one or all of the collective in our estate - does that make it any easier ?
I have had conflicting advice from solicitors hence why I am asking

I’ve no idea about how laws governing title deeds work in Scotland if I’m honest. My wife is a partner of an Estate Agency/Letting Agent based here in Warwickshire and she occasionally comes up against restrictive covenant issues, so I’m quoting her expertise and experience.

I recollect she had an issue with a tenant parking a large van which was upsetting a neighbour. The neighbour complained directly to the tenants employer whom the van belonged and an agreement was reached that the van would be parked overnight a couple of streets away on a road with no adjacent houses. The tenant didn’t like it but his employer wanted to avoid any bad publicity.

If solicitors are giving conflicting advice it just shows how difficult the situation is. This can mean lengthy legal arguments which unfortunately you will end up paying for. You may win but at what cost ? For me legal route is absolute last resort and avoidable if possible. Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

Engage a lawyer......

But By the sounds of it you’re better off speaking to the neighbour and coming to an arrangement , unless you’re liquid going down a protracted legal route isn’t going to benefit you at all. 2019 Svr and 2019 R35 GTR

Different scenario completely and don't do this, but...

Amazon opened a dept near us but without any parking for their vans. At one point there were twenty-two white transits parked nose-to-tail along our road. The council and Police moved them on, but not before I'd written in the dirt on one "I park in a residential road because I have a small willy".

I have since learnt that the driver was from eastern europe and didn't know what it meant, so drove round for weeks without wiping it off.

I had a similar issue last year except that it isn’t my next door neighbour but the family across the courtyard from me who have 2 commercial vans and 4 cars but a driveway that is only big enough for one car............ I went to my lawyer for help and despite there being a section of our deeds stating no cattle, sheep, hens/ chickens, pigs and other domesticated animals being allowed in gardens and no commercial vehicles or caravans being permitted to be kept on site there was actually little anybof the neighbours could do about it even as a group. All the properties on the development are bungalows except for this chap’s immediate next door neighbour who has the one and only house on the development and that was our ace card! The house owner noticed from her bedrooms upstairs that the other neighbour had obstructed and taken ownership of the fire lane between the backs of the houses and was storing builders materials there......... HSE and Fire Dept were called in and the builder guy had to remove everything. The fire officer also advised the local council rates office who instructed by the owner that as he was running a business from his house he would be subject to industrial rates.............. everything was gone within a week, including the two vans! Mind you two other neighbours were upset because they were each storing a caravan in their garden - well hidden from the rest of us who knew they were there but weren’t bothered by them and they were also forced to find off site storage for their vans. You do have to be a bit careful with these things as they can have unintended consequences like that. So you could advise your local rating office that a neighbour is running a business with commercial vans from his house and see what the rates Dept has to say! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
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Hi

He is your neighbour. Whatever action you take, he will still live next door to you. Better to seek a reasonable response from him especially if there are places for the van to be parked. Of course if it is full of tools he may think that isn't reasonable.

Yes you can try to enforce the covenant/real burden and maybe you will succeed but; you still have to live next door to him and to be honest having a van next door isn't the end of the world. It can't block your view much more than a Range Rover.

Range Rover is not covered in sign writing or includes a high top with ladders and doesnt take £20k off the price of my house !!!!!!

Are you thinking of selling your house anytime soon? The perceived drop in the value of your home wouldn’t be taken into account in law, a van parked next door isn’t the same as plans for a new incinerator or a dual carriageway passing through your garden.

A Range Rover can upset some people just as much as you are upset about a van. I don't know how you have come to the valuation but it is very unlikely to have lost value. It may affect some peoples will to buy, as may having a covenant against vans and caravans etc.

I speak from experience over many years of dealing with neighbour disputes and was simply trying to apply caution, the legal process does not provide a solution to relationship difficulties which can be much more frustrating than the van.

The trouble with asking for advice is that you need to listen to it even if you don't like it and then make your own decision.