Summary and Background
2.Mobile homes are used by their owners all year round as their primary residence, and are commonly referred to as “park homes”.
3.The law relating to the licensing of caravan sites and regulating mobile home occupation is contained within numerous Acts of Parliament which have been amended substantially over the last 50 years, in particular the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, the Caravan Sites Act 1968, and the Mobile Homes Act 1983.
4.These Acts have been amended in relation to England by the Mobile Homes Act 2013, and in relation to Wales, the Acts have been restated in this Act (the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013) but they continue to apply to holiday caravan sites.
5.The Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 restates and consolidates the legislation on mobile home sites in Wales, and makes provision in relation to how residential mobile home sites are managed and maintained in Wales.
6.In addition to the consolidation of legislation, this Act enables a local authority to appoint an interim manager if certain conditions are met. Where a site is unlicensed, an application may be made to a Residential Property Tribunal who may make an order (known as a repayment order) requiring the owner or manager of the site to pay to the occupier of a mobile home such sums specified in the order. The Act makes new provision for a “fit and proper” person requirement for those who manage mobile home sites. The Act removes the requirement for site owners to approve a purchaser of a mobile home (or a person to whom a mobile home has been gifted) and makes new provisions for sales, gifts and assignments. The Act extends the scope of offences in respect of the protection of occupiers against eviction and harassment, false information etc. The Act introduces new requirements about site rules and provides a framework for transparency on pitch fee reviews. The Act also extends the protection of residents on local authority sites to Gypsies and Travellers.
7.The policy rationale for the Act is to restate and update the legislation relating to mobile homes and to bring the site licensing regime more closely in line with other local authority licensing regimes. The practice of “sale blocking” caused problems in the sector and removes the opportunity for site operators to ‘block’ sales of mobile homes. It is intended the Act will raise standards in the sector and ensure the opportunity for sale blocking is removed and effective enforcement action can be taken against those operators who fail to comply with their licence obligations.
