When is enforcement action required on a residential park site? There may be some instances where the local authority has to take enforcement action against the site owner. Anna Tomasik and Manjit Rai, legal advisers from LEASE, put some questions to Nat Slade, local enforcement officer for Arun District Council

The majority of park home sites are owned and managed by fair and professional individuals or businesses. On a well-run site, enforcement action will not be a common issue.

Unfortunately, there are also some circumstances where conditions on a park can deteriorate. These may have an effect on the amenities of the site, and may include or result in licensing breaches or poor health and safety standards. After more than 50 years without legislative change, the Mobile Homes Act 2013 amended the legislation to provide effective enforcement powers to local authorities. This is an incentive for good practice park management and should deter non-compliance.

There may be some instances where the local authority has to intervene and take enforcement action against the site owner.

Anna Tomasik and Manjit Rai, legal advisers from LEASE, have put forward some key questions to Nat Slade, local enforcement officer for Arun District Council to explore issues around enforcement of site licence conditions on fully residential park home sites.

Q1: What examples of enforcement have you come across in recent years?
Some key examples are: maintenance backlogs and instances of unacceptable disrepair; site access and car parking problems; nuisance caused by residents (to the detriment of other residents) not addressed by a park owner; insufficient fire safety; and excessive noise and dirt due to works undertaken by a park owner on adjoining land. We have also investigated allegations of harassment.

Q2: How do you become aware of potential licensing and/or Trading Standards breaches on park home sites that may result in the necessity to take enforcement action?
We visit park home sites from time to time, dependent upon their respective compliance records. We also follow up on alerts by third parties, in particular complaints from residents. There tend to be better links with residents on sites with qualifying residents’ associations.

Q3: If park home residents want to inform their local authority of issues that may warrant enforcement action, how can they inform you?
This can be done by phone, letter, email, or completion of a form on our website. Each local authority will have different contact details. What we need from residents is specific information, including any steps they have already taken to bring the matter to the attention of the site owner. Supporting evidence, such as photographs and copies of correspondence, is also useful.

 

Read the full story in the December 2018 issue of Park Home & Holiday Caravan