A Perth family returned from a European holiday to an unexpected problem waiting at their doorstep.

A council ranger knocked just hours after they landed, demanding that their caravan be removed from outside their home.

The order came after a neighbour lodged a complaint, forcing the owner to find—and pay for—alternative storage.

Eddy Luquero had owned his caravan for more than three years when the council became involved.

The knock at the door came while he and his wife were overseas, with a ranger advising their son that the vehicle could not remain parked on the verge outside their Ocean Reef home.

When Eddy returned, the ranger appeared again within three hours of him stepping back into the house.

Neighbour complaint sparks costly caravan dispute. Image source: Facebook/Eddy Luquero

'My wife and I were in Europe, but our son was at home... The council ranger said they'd had a complaint from someone in the area,' Eddy told Yahoo News.

'We were back a fortnight later, and we'd literally been back in the house for about three hours from the airport, and lo and behold, the lady turned up again.'

The council’s rules were clear—unattached caravans, boats, and trailers were not permitted on verges, roads, or car parks at any time.

With little choice, Eddy relocated his caravan to a storage facility 20 minutes away, now paying $80 a month just to keep it there.

He said the new arrangement had made caravanning less convenient, turning a simple getaway into a logistical exercise.

'I've got to go over there in the car now, get it, bring it back to my house, load it up, then go,' he explained.

'I really don't understand. Yes, if I'm pulling out or pulling in, it does take a little bit to get into the correct position... but it's no problem when it's there.'

Caravan parking has become a flashpoint across the country as popularity surges and streets grow more crowded.

The community reporting app Snap Send Solve revealed it had already received 2,100 complaints this year about caravans parked in residential areas.

One Sunshine Coast resident even launched a petition after caravans blocked both sides of his driveway, with more than 500 signatures supporting tighter restrictions.

Meanwhile, Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council has been running its own investigation into how to manage the growing issue.

Traffic lawyer Avinash Singh warned that failing to plan caravan storage could quickly turn neighbours against each other.

'You don't want to be putting all your neighbours and the rest of the community offside with a caravan causing issues for parking,' he told Yahoo News.

'Sometimes, because of their size, they can even be a danger in terms of driving.'

He urged prospective owners to check their council regulations and have a storage plan before committing to such a large purchase.

Parking disputes like Eddy’s aren’t isolated—councils across the country have been fielding a surge of complaints about caravans, boats, and trailers left on verges or streets.

In some areas, the rules are even stricter, with rangers actively patrolling and issuing fines.

One recent case shows just how heated these clashes can become when neighbours and councils lock horns over space.

Read more: Is your neighbor breaking the rules? What you need to know about the council’s crackdown on caravans and boats

Key Takeaways

• A Perth man was forced to move his caravan after a neighbour complaint.
• Council rules prohibit parking unattached caravans on verges or streets.
• He now pays $80 a month for offsite storage 20 minutes from home.
• Complaints about caravan parking are rising nationwide, sparking petitions and investigations.

Would you be frustrated if a neighbour’s complaint suddenly left you paying extra just to enjoy your own caravan?

 

[Catherines]

A car is parked on the road, only just partially, in the front of a neighbour’s house and she always whinges about it saying “it’s so annoying that they think they can park in front of my house”. She does not realise that ‘in front of her house’ on the road means it is actually legally parked. It does not impinge upon her driveway by even an inch & her whole house is clearly visible and clear of the car. Those neighbour’s of hers are renting and have 2 cars but only one single garage.

Parking on the grass verge IS ILLEGAL as it is also illegal to have ANY part of a car or caravan extend outside the legal perimeter of the property - most cases in a situation like this are overlooked if the vehicle extends just a couple of inches outside the property’s boundary but it is still technically illegal.

 

[Catherines]

It appears that the owner of the caravan could possible renting out his caravan, and there are probably people sleeping in the caravan. So in order to make it safe for his tents, be has taken the caravan off the road, and parked it on safer grounds that being the nature strip.

No, the ‘nature strip’ is just that - a nature strip - and not a parking bay for caravan or car which, while parked there, makes it impossible for neighbours backing their cars out of their driveways to have a clear view of approaching vehicles and/or pedestrians, and it also obstructs the walking area for children and families. The person in the article IS PARKED ILLEGALLY no matter how you look at it.

 

[John Conafray]

Yes I think it’s right, you either put it on your drive or find somewhere else to store it. If nothing is done to stop them parking on the verge, streets could be lined with caravans and boats. It’s like utes etc you know the size of the drive but you don’t park over the walkway, ILLEGAL!

 

[RobbyNotTheRobot]

As a neighbour, whether you like it or not, any vehicle that is legally registered, be it a car, a boat, and also a caravan too. If the owner has paid for the registration, then they are legally entitled to park their caravan, wherever they like. This of course applies in designated parking spaces, being for cars or motorcycles, or any registered motorised vehicle. I hope theses people go to court and fight for their legal right to park their van where they have legally done so. Good luck to them. Gezzabel.

I am not sure going to court will fix it. The council owns the verge, at least the council where I live does. They can do as they please. Should of left it on the street or anywhere else as you say.

 

[RobbyNotTheRobot]

It's illegal to park on a nature strip where they have it parked. Rules are there for a reason.

What I think Vegepatch is on about is if it does not directly affect you, mind your own fkn business is what he is saying, Snitches get stitches.

 

[Catherines]

I am not sure going to court will fix it. The council owns the verge, at least the council where I live does. They can do as they please. Should of left it on the street or anywhere else as you say.

Yes, should have left it completely within their own property boundary. Court will cost a hell of a lot more than the fine. The councils definitely own ALL of the footpath, even the home owner is required to keep it tidy and, really, is that so hard to do when one mows their own yard.

 

[Phantom55]

Rules are Rules just abide by it and you won’t have anyone knocking on your front door..

YES....do as you are told

 

[Leenie]

a totally different story.

Maybe , the point is he was living on the street ILLEGALLY .

 

[Gerrit H. Schorel-Hlavka]

Councils actually lack any legislative powers Municipal of Sydney v Commonwealth 1904. I had Banyule city council also using lawyers pestering me with parking my car in my driveway behind locked gates they claimed was violating their conditions. I told them to get lost.
https://constitutionwatch.com.au/fee-simple/ttps://constitutionwatch.com.au/fee-simple/

Commonwealth v New South Wales [1923] HCA 34 (1923) 33 CLR 1 (9 August 1923)

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

KNOX C.J., ISAACS, HIGGINS, GAVAN DUFFY AND STARKE JJ.

THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PLAINTIFF against

THE STATE OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND ANOTHER DEFENDANTS

1920-1923: SYDNEY, Dec. 1-3, 1920; Mar. 21-29, 1922; Aug. 9, 1923 33 CLR 1

Extracts from Commonwealth Law Reports Volume 33 / 33 CLR 1:- (1920) 33 CLR 1 at 42

QUOTE

“It confers, and since the beginning of legal history it always has conferred, the lawful right to exercise over, upon, and in respect to, the land, every act of ownership which can enter into the imagination, including the right to commit unlimited waste; and, for all practical purposes of ownership, it differs from the absolute dominion of a chattel, in nothing except the physical indestructibility of its subject.”

“Besides these rights of ownership, a fee simple at the present day confers an absolute right, both of alienation inter vivos and of devise by will.”

END QUOTE

And

QUOTE

ISAACS J. In Challis's Real Property, 3rd ed., p. 218,

it is stated with perfect accuracy:—

“In the language of the English law, the word fee signifies an estate of inheritance as distinguished from a less estate; not, as in the language of the feudists, a subject of tenure as distinguished from an allodium.”

“Allodium being wholly unknown to English law, the latter distinction would in fact have no meaning.” “A fee simple is the most extensive in quantum, and the most absolute in respect to the rights which it confers, of all estates known to the law.”

END QUOTE

 

[Veggiepatch]

The next time I see a council ute or truck parked in the same fashion as the caravan in the article, I will ring up council and make a complaint.

See how that goes down....