What rights and protections do park home residents have on sites with residential, holiday and mixed-used licences under the current legislation? What responsibilities do park site owners have? Rawdon Crozier, a barrister from KBG Chambers, in Plymouth, Truro and Exeter, and the Leasehold Advisory Service’s Antony Tregenna discuss

Home owners and park owners are sometimes unclear as to whether a unit is protected under mobile homes legislation. This protection depends upon whether the site is a residential site, a holiday site or a mixed use site. This article examines the differences between these types of sites and the rights of home owners.

Residential sites
The Mobile Homes Act 1983 gives a number of rights and protections to park home owners who occupy the home as their own or main residence, if it is situated on a protected site. This is a site where there are no restrictions concerning the site licence or planning permission. In this situation, the home owner will have the protection of the Act.

Holiday sites
Where the planning permission permits only holiday use or restricts occupation for a specified period – i.e. 11 months of the year – the occupiers will not be protected by the Mobile Homes Act 1983. This means that they do not have rights provided by the legislation (e.g. the right to receive a Written Statement). The site owner is still required to obtain a site licence by applying to the local authority (Section 3 of Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960).

Mixed use sites
A mixed use site is one that is licensed for both residential and holiday use; in other words it is a permanent residential site, on which residence is permitted throughout the year, but which also includes holiday home pitches. It may be regarded as a protected site if there are no restrictions concerning its usage. However, a holiday home on a mixed used site would not necessarily enable the occupier  to obtain the same protection as a residential home. In considering whether an occupier was protected, it would important to look at whether the particular unit was used for holiday or residential purposes; even if this meant that there were neighbours, some with and some without protection on the same site, who were subject to the same site licence. [Berkeley Leisure Group Ltd v Hampton [2001] EWCA Civ 1474]. There has been no further decision on this point since the passing of the Mobile Homes Act 2013.

 

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact LEASE’s telephone advice line on 020 7832 2525. Alternatively, you can contact Rawdon Crozier at KBG Chambers on 0845 308 1551.

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To read more about this issue read the January 2017 issue of Park Homes and Holiday Caravan

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