# Keeping motorcycles in a house.



## MotorOlly (Dec 30, 2020)

Hello all!
I'm part way through arranging a second home in Catalunya after spending every summer riding there in the mountains. I'm looking at a tall terraced house with large double front doors and shutters in to the open plan concrete floored ground floor, there is just a windowless box room at the back which would be ideal for locking the bikes in.
In the UK keeping motorcycles in a house would need planning to convert the area to a garage for both planning and insurance but this would reduce the security of the storage and we'd lose the whole ground floor.
I wondered does anyone have experience of storing a motorcycle in a house in Spain? How is it looked upon?
Olly


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## Relyat (Sep 29, 2013)

I've seen motorcycles, cars, tractors even horses kept in a house. Nobody batted an eyelid. 
Whether they had house insurance or not, I know not. It's not looked at in any way other than it's normal.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Relyat said:


> I've seen motorcycles, cars, tractors even horses kept in a house. Nobody batted an eyelid.
> Whether they had house insurance or not, I know not. It's not looked at in any way other than it's normal.


I tend to agree. I don't think anyone would be too bothered. Is it against planning permission being petrol etc? Really its best to ask ay the local town hall. Would it affect your house insurance or would the bike be covered by the insurance? Best to ask the insurers of your home and bike to be honest.


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## MotorOlly (Dec 30, 2020)

Many thanks Relyat and Xicolc! We don't have the equivalent of a town hall here for asking questions like that so good tip, will do! I spoke with a friend who lives in Murcia today too, he said he was thinking of the same thing and was unsure, guess we might both find out together. Nice avatar btw Relyat


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

n UK an insurance contract is one of 'utmost good faith' which in plain language means disclosing anything which could cause an insure to revise or reconsider their risk and if in doubt you disclose. I imagine it works much the same in Spain.

I don't think storing a motorcycle inside a domestic dwelling could be termed 'normal' by any stretch of the term and therefore is unquestionably something which should be disclosed.

The insurer may accept it without fuss but on the other hand if something did happen which gave rise to a claim, and not necessarily directly to do with the motorbike, it could give them an excuse to refuse a pay out.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

MotorOlly said:


> Many thanks Relyat and Xicolc! We don't have the equivalent of a town hall here for asking questions like that so good tip, will do! I spoke with a friend who lives in Murcia today too, he said he was thinking of the same thing and was unsure, guess we might both find out together. Nice avatar btw Relyat


You must have a town hall/ayuntamiento. Who do you pay your rates to?
My friend keeps his bike in his house, no problem. It’s either that or the street as we don’t have gardens or garages in this town!


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## MotorOlly (Dec 30, 2020)

Oh, town hall in Spain is the UK council offices? Thanks Alcalaina I hadn't realised 😅 certainly in Scotland the town hall is more about coffee mornings and scout meetings.

Matamata good point, I guess its all about what that term normal means to which people in what cultures; some countries storing in the house IS the normal, building a bike in a living room in the UK is normal but not storing it, charging vehicles was a nono but now we have ebikes in livingrooms, in some countries its even illegal to wash your car at home 🤷‍♀️ Just need to find out what the current normal is living in rural Spain


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## Relyat (Sep 29, 2013)

MotorOlly said:


> . Nice avatar btw Relyat


Thanks. If that's you in yours then, nice bike!!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

When we were first looking for a towhouse ot buy in 2002/03, lots of the ones we viewed had a moto parked up in the main living room, it soon became obvious that this was nothing out of the ordinary!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I agree with the majority of opinions. You would technically need to change the use of the room with the appropriate fire resistance protection required to store a combustion fuel vehicle, but in reality this won't be an issue unless you have to claim on insurance.

I have known people doing this also and the only problem that I know of was a minor dispute on access rights becasue the person had to cross the pavement for access and there was no "vado".

Best thing would be to not upset anyone with loud pipes or unsociable hours, and keep a low profile.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Overandout said:


> I agree with the majority of opinions. You would technically need to change the use of the room with the appropriate fire resistance protection required to store a combustion fuel vehicle, but in reality this won't be an issue unless you have to claim on insurance.
> 
> I have known people doing this also and the only problem that I know of was a minor dispute on access rights becasue the person had to cross the pavement for access and there was no "vado".
> 
> Best thing would be to not upset anyone with loud pipes or unsociable hours, and keep a low profile.


But if the idea of insurance is to be able to make a claim when/ if needed, "the best thing" would be to make sure that the insurance company gives the OK to the place where the bike is to be stored, wouldn't it?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> But if the idea of insurance is to be able to make a claim when/ if needed, "the best thing" would be to make sure that the insurance company gives the OK to the place where the bike is to be stored, wouldn't it?


Of course, but I got the impression that the OP was trying to do it without jumping through the formal hoops (which any insurance company would insist on), so I was just advising of the downside. And unless the space designated complies with the basic requirements of a garage, which the OP indicates it does not, there will be no way of doing it "properly" as the regs don't distinguish between a garage for a car and for a motorbike.


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## MotorOlly (Dec 30, 2020)

Nail on the head @Overandout , as soon as it is officially a garage its no longer secure for a motorbike. The required ventilation and fire proofing would be easy and I plan on doing but I'm not sure how wheeling bikes through a domestic doorway to get there would be seen if I made it official. 
But it sounds quite common to do which is what I suspected. I'll check with the insurance paperwork, in my experience if you have to ask the answer is usually no so best to go on the exact wording  
Thanks folks! 
(Thanks @Relyat, yep that's my Bonnie, Steve's number board!)


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