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Can you Live in an RV on Someone’s Property

motorhome in someones land

The short answer is, Of course, you can! With a willing host and a few accommodations, this can be a great solution if your a remodeling or building a new home however it is not as straight-forward as it seems. Wide open spaces, no landlords, it really could be the best option for your family. However, there are a few things you will want to think about when planning this out

Things to know when considering living in someone’s else property with your Rv

1) Ownership

If you do not already own an RV, this could end up being more expensive than renting an apartment for a few months.

Even used RVs can cost over $40,000 and new RVs can run over $100,000 depending on the size and model. The way to figure out if this makes sense financially is to compare the cost of the RV to the length of time you would be renting.

For instance, if your home will be complete in 6 months, and an apartment that will fit your family is $2000 per month, that is $12,000 plus utilities.

So for it to make financial sense to purchase an RV, you would need to find one for less than $12,000. If you already own your RV, that makes this a much more appealing idea.

Just keep in mind how much you normally spend on maintenance when you are traveling every few months vs. living in it every day. It still won’t come close to the cost of rent, but it is something to consider and plan for.

2) Space

How much space will you need for your family? Especially in a time when just about everyone is or could be homeschooling, you really need to think about how much space you need for your family.

Do your children have space to do homework and watch TV? Do you have a place to be away from the children if you need to?

These things are easily achievable in an RV with the right organization, but you definitely want to have a plan in place. Don’t discount the difficulty of planning a remodel/new build while living on top of each other. Make sure that this is the best decision for you and your family all around and not just the one that makes the most financial sense.

3) Amenities

Your friend or family member may be willing to let you stay on their property for free which would be great, but you need to fully understand their expectations of your use of the house as well.

Will they allow you to do laundry in their house or will you need to find a laundry mat nearby? Is there an electric hookup or will you need a generator?

How will you dump waste? Where can you connect for water? These are all very important things to talk over with your host before you make any decisions as the answers to these could affect the viability of your plan.

4) Legal

While it’s unlikely anything truly catastrophic would happen if someone has offered to let you stay on their land, this is something to think through.

You are staying in an RV you own on land you do not own. If something happens between you and your hosts that could create a legal mess.

Another issue that may arise is a problem with your host. For instance, you are staying on your aunt and uncle’s land and they start divorce proceedings.

This may not affect you immediately but you are definitely putting your fate in someone else’s hands in these situations so be careful about who would be hosting you and your family. You want to make sure they are stable and in a good position to host you to avoid a disaster.

Conclusion on can you live in an RV on someone’s property

In the end, you absolutely can live in an RV on someone else’s land. Just make sure you have weighed all your options before jumping to the “free” choice.

You may not have traditional rent, but an RV takes money and time to maintain. You also don’t want months of stress and difficulty because you don’t have enough space or you chose the wrong people to stay with.

But if you have weighed out all of the options, and you love the idea of “Glamping” for a few months. Staying in you RV on a friend or family member’s property can be a great option!

Carl Walker
the authorCarl Walker
Carl is an avid adventurer who goes everywhere with his backpack. He would choose his SwissArmy knife over his handphone if he is lost in the forest. Living in an RV is his dream life and he blogs all about it on RV Living.