On the road
Am I legally allowed to live in my car in the UK?
Plus if you can stay in your car after you've had a drink
LIVING in your car is on the up as people struggle to deal with the cost of living crisis.
Others are seeking a nomadic existence, so here’s all we know about the rules on car life in the UK.
1
Am I legally allowed to live in my car in the UK?
The simple answer is yes, you can.
In the UK, you are legally allowed to live in your car— just so long as you follow a few rules.
The only requirement is that your car has passed its MOT and is entirely road-legal.
If legally parked, there aren’t rules against sleeping or living in a car.
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The trend of car or van living has taken off in the United States, where some have been forced to leave rented accommodation after landlords put up the rent.
Others have opted to live in their vehicle in pursuit of a free, nomadic lifestyle, where they can travel all over the country.
And one person decided to live out of their car rather than lose their dream job.
When would I not be allowed to live in my car?
There are certain circumstances in which it’s not legal to sleep in a car in the UK.
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Firstly, you must be in a safe parking spot, not in violation of any parking restrictions.
Certain car parks, lay-bys, and national parks and forests have restrictions on overnight parking, which means you can’t sleep there in a vehicle.
Is it illegal to drive in pyjamas?
If restrictions are broken, you could be fined or even have your vehicle towed.
Secondly, you must not be above the legal drink-drive limit or under the influence of any drugs, if you intend to sleep in your car.
If over the limit, you could be charged with being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle in a public place, even if you’re not driving.
The ban on sleeping in your car when you're drunk comes under the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The rule says you can be found guilty of an offence if in charge of a vehicle on a road or public place “after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit”.
What other vehicles am I allowed to live in?
Along with cars, it’s also common — and possibly more spacious — to live in a van.
Many people have opted for this lifestyle after the cost of living crisis pushed them out of housing.
Vans, minivans, converted buses, and unsurprisingly, campervans, are popular choices.
Footage of van conversions under the hashtags #vanlife and #vanlifeuk paint a glamorous picture of vehicle living.
One van-dweller, Liam Day, who runs the @ThoseHappyDays YouTube channel on van life in the UK, says that: "One cost that everyone who goes into van life has to pay is the cost of the van.
"You can spend £2,000 on an empty shell of a rusty old van or you can spend £200,000 on a coach-built motorhome.”
He added: "The first van that we got was a Transit which cost us £9,000.
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"Getting it professionally converted cost us over £7,500.”
Fuel and other maintenance costs are also a factor.
Most Common Illegal Driving Activities
Here's a list of reckless driving behaviour and the fines and penalties you risk getting from it.
- Using phone while driving
Cheeky glance at a phone screen will result in six penalty points on your licence and a £200 fine
New drivers might lose their licence if caught doing so within two years of obtaining it - Speeding
Lovers of fast and furious will end up with minimum three points and £100 fine - Running a red light
This offence will incur three points and £100 fine - Middle lane hogging
It constitutes careless driving and police will hand you out a £100 fine with three penalty points - Undertaking
This could possibly result in three points on your license and a £100 fine
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