What is the law concerning living on your own land ?

Question

I am living on a small parcel of land, where the person who has just left (he bought a house) lived without any problem for 15 years !! Its down a quiet lane, off a bridle path. There has been a small caravan on the site for a long time (10 years +) I want to put a nice little log cabin on the land, and live self sufficiently. What planning problems am I likely to face.
I am NOT a gypsy, or traveller, just someone who has lost just about everything due to no fault of my own, and I now need to start again. I have enough money to build something small, and live in harmony with the countryside with my dogs and cats.
I hope to start a small rescue centre for strays, and maybe commercial boarding to make some money to cover costs etc.
ANY help would be greatly appreciated.
The land is approx 6500 sq m (1.3 acres)
I want to put a small kennel block for my doggies, and a small 4 berth caravan to start with, and then if I can get planning, maybe a small 60sq m log cabin
NO ABUSE PLEASE

Answer 1

me: land owner ( currently 200 acres ) and been through this many times with people, developments etc.

You'll need to talk to the council first. That is talk, don't send them a letter.

Make an appointment with the forward planning officer to see if this parcel has any chance of being in the local development framework. Expressions of interest for LDF's closed in April this year, until 2018 so its going to have to be apretty special case to get a permanent residence on it.

The facts that you choose a lob cabin, are down on your luck, want to live in harmony etc...bare no weight with planning, and neither should they.

Kennels can count as agricultural use ( sometimes ) , so you might try to go for an agricultrural accupancy condition, or a no-freehold transfer covernent.. These might help the council believe you are not going to move on and make moeny from it.

Environment agency would have something to say as well, you'll need to be able to proove you have waste disposal. A septic tank, cesstank etc are the last resort and if possible they will amke you connect to mains drainage, even if its 100's metres away. They normally accept its not preactical if its going to cost more than £40K, but you might still have to spend £15K on a biodisc and reed bed. they would also have concerns about waste from the kennels if you are not on mains disposal.

Talk to forward planning first. If they say its got a chance, you then need to go for change of use to residential and then outline planning. Once you've got that there is then the building regs.

The statement below...".....you can pretty much do as you please" is complete nonsense. The fine for illegal construction on agricultural land can be up to £50K for a single dwelling,in addition to being told to remove it.

Answer 2

Don't know what country/state you are in, but, check locla laws. Make sure you get all the correct permits to build etc. I dropped out to the country 14 years ago. Love it, only the electric and internet keep me from totally dropping off the grid. Be sure an set aside a patch for a veggie garden, you might think about raising a calf to be butchered later.

Answer 3

Depends where you -some authorities very strict on this. The cahnces are you will end up with an illegal development and on the business end of an enforcement notice. You should look into shared-ownership schemes or housing association property - particularly if you have kids and a low income.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear your down on your luck but i think before you do anything check out who owns the land you cant just do your own thing on land you do not own. and im pretty sure someone owns it .
if you build something without permission you will end up wasting what bit of money you have.
so really give it some thought before doing anything and make sure you can live there legally.
good luck.
ps when you say own land have you bought it if not you cant just say thats mine.

Answer 5

You didn't give any information that would be needed.

If you're way out in the boonies, you can pretty much do as you please. If you're in a town or city, there may be ordinances you have to comply with, such as construction materials, electricians have to be licensed, minimum septic tank size, etc. If you are in a subdivision, there may be minimum and maximum square footage, exterior limitations, height limitations, whether or not you can have outbuildings for the dogs....

If you're in the US, start with your county or town Planning and Zoning office.

Answer 6

i have 1/4 acre with 9 stables onit, bought it 4 years ago with view to build a house and sell on for profit, spoken to local council who have said i cant build on it, however the land next to it is outlined as no build, but mine is outside. dont understand them!! so just sitting on it till an idea comes up

Answer 7

It's no longer healthy to live in a house built under code, eg. damp basements poorly insulated, un inspected electrical & water can be a fire haszard, unsafe septic & waste removal systems, not to mention all the stricked rules when dealing with pets & thier health issues.

Answer 8

Laws vary from state to state, or country to country, just with the local authorities, and they can give you the answer .. Good Luck

Answer 9

check with county building office they can tell you everything you need to know . local ordinances may vary . so check to make sure your doing everything right ...Good Luck also check to see if you can have commercial building and animals over a certain count there..again good luck rebuilding your life

Answer 10

you will have to provide building plans, and get a building permit, and the building will have to be built to code,
wiring, water, septic or sewer.

Once you go into rescue or boarding, you have to have license, and state permits