Mobile home owners on protected sites

A mobile home owner is protected under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 if their agreement entitles them to both:

• station the mobile home on land forming part of a protected site

• occupy the mobile home as their only or main residence

A protected site is one that has a site licence and planning permission with no restrictions as to when mobile homes can be occupied. Holiday homes are not protected by the Act. Occupiers who are absent temporarily remain protected.

The definition of a mobile home includes most caravans and mobile homes capable of being moved in one piece or in sections. Find out more about the definition of a mobile home.

An agreement under the Act has certain terms implied by law. The site owner must apply for a court order to end the agreement.[1]

Where a mobile home is purchased from an existing occupier, the existing agreement is assigned to the new owner and is binding on them.[2]

Duration of the agreement

An agreement under the Act continues until terminated by the occupier or the site owner. Fixed term agreements cannot be created.

If the site owner’s interest in the land or planning permission comes to an end, the agreement also ends. If the owner’s interest or planning permission is extended, the occupier's agreement is automatically extended.

Mobile home owners on protected sites have the right to a written statement of their agreement. The statement is evidence of the agreement but not the agreement itself.

The statement must normally be given at least 28 days before the start of the agreement.[3] The occupier can consent in writing to a statement being given at a later date.[4] This might allow the site owner to add additional terms that the occupier would not otherwise have agreed to.

The written statement must be in a prescribed form and include:[5]

• the date the agreement is to commence

• a description of the land and plan of the pitch

• the statement of implied terms and any express terms

• information on pitch fees and other charges

• a prescribed passage explaining the written statement and stating the occupier should get written advice if they do not understand

Where an agreement has not been provided

An occupier who is not given a written statement can apply to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for an order requiring one to be given.

Until a written statement has been provided in the correct form, the express terms of the agreement are not enforceable.[6]

Certain terms are implied into all agreements under the Mobile Homes Act.[7]

The occupier’s rights and obligations

The mobile home owner must:[8]

• pay the pitch fee and any sums due under the written agreement

• keep the mobile home in a sound state of repair

• maintain the outside of the mobile home and all areas of the pitch for which they are responsible

The site owners' obligations

The site owner is responsible for:[9]

• repairs to the base for the mobile home

• repair and maintenance for services they supply, such as electricity or sewerage

• maintenance and cleaning of any parts of the site that are not the resident’s responsibility, including access ways and fences

The site owner must also supply, free of charge if requested, documentary evidence in support of any new pitch fee or other charges under the agreement.

If the occupier requests details of the size and location of the pitch and base, the site owner must provide this and cannot charge more than a set amount for doing so.[10]

Site owners right of entry to the pitch

The mobile home owner is entitled to quiet enjoyment of the home and the pitch.[11]

The site owner can only enter the pitch:[12]

• between 9am and 6pm to deliver written communications, including post and notices, or to read meters for services which they supply

• to carry out essential or emergency works, having given as much notice to the resident as is practical

• for any other reasons, with 14 days' written notice of the date, time and reason for their visit, unless agreed otherwise

Site owner moving the mobile home

The site owner can require that the occupier moves the mobile home to another pitch for essential emergency or repair works. The site owner must return the home to its original pitch on completion of the repairs if requested to by the resident.[13]

If the site owner wants to move a mobile home for any other reason, they must make an application to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The Tribunal must be satisfied that the move is reasonable and that the new pitch is broadly comparable to the original pitch.[14]

The park owner is liable for any costs incurred during the movement of the home.[15]

Provision of the owner's name and address

The site owner must inform a resident or the residents' association of an address in England or Wales at which notices can be served on them.[16]

If the site owner serves a notice for any reason, it must contain the owner's name and an address where papers can be served. If the notice does not contain this information, the notice is deemed to be not served, and the charge not payable, until this information is supplied.

Recognition of residents' associations

A site owner must acknowledge a resident's association if:[17]

• it represents the residents on the park who own their mobile home

• at least 50 per cent of the residents are members

• it has a chair, secretary, and treasurer

• it is independent from the site owner, whose agents and employees are excluded from membership, even if they are park residents

• decisions of the association are taken by vote, with one vote per home

In calculating the percentage of residents, each home is considered as having one occupant. If there is more than one occupant then the first name on the written agreement is used.

A site owner can bring a claim in the County Court to end a mobile home owner's agreement. The court will only make an order terminating the agreement if it is reasonable to do so.

The site owner can bring a claim if the:[18]

• mobile home owner has breached a term of the agreement

• mobile home owner is not occupying the mobile home as their only or main residence

Temporary absences by the occupier do not give the site owner the right to terminate an occupier's agreement.

The site owner can also bring a claim in the County Court if the First Tier Tribunal has determined that the condition of the mobile home is such that it is having a detrimental effect on the site.[19]

The site owner does not need to give the occupier a separate notice before bringing a claim in the County Court, unless they are relying on a breach of the agreement.

If the site owner's claim to terminate the agreement on one of the above grounds is successful, the site owner must obtain a further order from the court authorising them to regain possession of the pitch. This is usually applied for as part of the same proceedings.

Breach of the agreement

Before applying to the court to terminate the occupier's agreement, the site owner must serve a notice to remedy on the occupier requiring that the breach is remedied within a reasonable time. What constitutes a reasonable time for remedying the breach depends on the facts of the case.[20] If a further breach occurs only after the reasonable period has elapsed the site owner must serve a fresh notice. There is no prescribed form for a notice to remedy and a warning letter was held to constitute valid notice. [21] A breach might include antisocial behaviour, failure to pay pitch fees or to keep the mobile home in a decent state of repair

Where the breach of the agreement is so serious as to be not capable of remedy, for example a serious act of violence, there is no requirement to serve a notice to remedy on the occupier.[22] The site owner might still give notice but state they are starting a claim immediately as they consider the breach incapable of remedy.

Condition of the mobile home

Where the application is made on the grounds of the detrimental effect of the condition of the mobile home, the court can adjourn the proceedings where the occupier has stated they will carry out the necessary repairs and it is reasonably practicable for them to carry those out.

This ground is comparative. If other mobile homes on the site are in poor condition, it might be difficult for the site owner to show that the mobile home is having a detrimental effect.

The mobile home occupier must give the site owner at least four weeks' notice in writing if they want to terminate the agreement.[23]

The agreement might specify a longer or notice period, or this might be be agreed by the two parties.

The mobile home occupier and the site owner are free to put any express terms into the agreement, so long as they do not conflict with the implied terms. For agreements made after 1 October 2015 unfair terms within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Act will be unenforceable. For agreements before that date the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 apply.

Express terms, other than site rules, not contained in a written statement given to the occupier are unenforceable.[24]

If there is a dispute about terms of the agreement, either the site owner and the mobile home owner can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The application must be made within the first six months of the agreement starting or the written statement being served, if later.[25]

The tribunal can vary or remove any express terms, other than a site rule. It can also insert terms as to pitch fees and charges, reviews of charges, provision or improvement of services or the preservation of the amenity of the site.

Site rules

Site rules form part of the express terms of the agreement. They can relate to matters, such as the permitted age of the mobile home occupier or the keeping of pets.

For a site owner to make or vary site rules, they must:[26]

• consult the occupiers and any qualifying residents' association

• notify them of the consultation's outcome and new rules to be adopted

• deposit the site rules with the local authority

Occupiers or a qualifying residents' association, who object to the proposed rules or consider that they have not been made in accordance with procedure, can apply to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) within 21 days of receiving the consultation response.

An application can be made if:[27]

• the site owner has not followed the correct process

• the new rule is inconsistent with rights under the Act

• the decision to introduce the new rule is unreasonable

The new rules become express terms of the agreement and enforceable only after deposit of the rules with the local authority. The rules cannot be deposited if there is a pending appeal.

The pitch fee is the amount payable to the site owner for the right to station the mobile home on the pitch and use common areas of the site.

The requirement to pay a pitch fee is an express term of the agreement.

Costs of maintaining and supplying utilities and costs of licence fees can be recovered from residents through pitch fees.[28] Where a utility company imposes a climate change levy, site owners should not include this charge in the pitch fee.[29]

Pitch fee reviews

Pitch fees can only be reviewed annually. The site owner must serve a notice and a document in a prescribed form on the mobile home owner at least 28 days before the review date, outlining any proposed increase and the reasons for it, along with any relevant documents.[30] If the prescribed document is not provided the notice of increase to the pitch fee has no effect.

Where the documents contain minor errors, such as an error in the address, the Upper Tribunal held that they can still be valid where a reasonable recipient would understand the form.[31]

Increases in the pitch fee should not exceed the consumer prices index (CPI) increase since the last review date. Increases that exceed CPI are allowed if they reflect sums expended for the benefit of the residents, or the effect of new legislation.[32] One case established that comparables with pitch fees on other sites are not important.[33]

If the mobile home owner agrees to the increase then it takes effect from the review date.[34]

Challenging pitch fee increases

If the mobile home owner disagrees with the new amount then either they or the site owner can make an application to the First Tier Tribunal (property chamber). The Tribunal can make an order to determine a new pitch fee amount.[35] The Tribunal must have regard to any deterioration in condition or amenity of the site, and can consider other relevant factors.[36]

An application can be made after 28 days have passed from the review date but no later than three months. The new pitch fee is payable from the review date but the mobile home owner is not treated in arrears until 28 days from the Tribunals order.[37]

Disputes over pitch fees can go to an arbitrator when the agreement between the parties allows for it. Occupiers cannot be required to use arbitration.

For agreements that started on or after 6 May 2013, the mobile home owner can sell the mobile home and assign the site agreement without the site owners’ consent. The new occupier is required to pay the site owner a commission on the sale at a rate not exceeding that set out in regulations.[38]

The assignment of the pitch agreement must be made in writing in a prescribed form. The assignee must notify the site owner of the assignment within seven days, and must provide information including the purchase price and a statement that they agree to comply with the site rules.[39]

For agreements that started before 26 May 2013, the seller must also serve notice of a proposed sale on the site owner. The site owner can then apply for an order to refuse the sale if the proposed occupier would be in breach of a site rule, for example on age or keeping an animal where prohibited.[40]

The prescribed forms for assignment and sale of a mobile home are on GOV.UK.

Gifting a mobile home to a family member

A mobile home owner can also gift the mobile home and assign the agreement to a member of the family. Family members include spouses, cohabitees, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

The mobile home owner must serve a notice of proposed gift on the site owner, who may only refuse to consent on certain grounds, including if the proposed owner would be in breach of a site rule or if they have failed to provide evidence that they are a member of the family.[41]

Succession is where a family member can inherit the mobile home pitch agreement when the occupier dies. The occupier must have been occupying the mobile home as their only or main residence when they died.

The mobile home occupier's spouse or civil partner succeeds to the mobile home pitch agreement if they were residing with the occupier at the time of their death.[42]

If there is no spouse or civil partner, a member of the occupier's family can succeed if they were residing with the occupier at the time of their death.[43] A family member includes a:

• child

• parent

• sibling

Step-relations and relations through marriage are included.

Where no one qualifies to succeed

If no one qualifies to succeed to a mobile home pitch agreement, the person entitled to the home under the occupier's will can succeed. If the occupier died without a will, the intestacy rules apply.[44] The successor is not entitled to occupy the mobile home.

The site owner can allow the successor to live in the mobile home or gift it to another member of the family, but is not required to.[45] 

The successor can sell the home and assign the agreement. The site owner cannot terminate the agreement on the basis that the mobile home is not being occupied during this process.

A mobile home owner who rents a pitch on an unprotected site does not have any rights under the Mobile Homes Act. For example, if they live on a site where the rules do not permit people to live there year round.

A written agreement with the site owner might specify terms such as:

• the pitch fee and how it can be increased

• what notice the occupier needs to give to leave

• whether the occupier can only live on the site at certain times of year

If there is no written agreement, other communications could be used as evidence of the terms of the agreement. For example, text messages, emails or whatsapp messages.

The mobile home owner might be able to take legal action for damages if the site owner breaches a term of the agreement.

How the site owner can end the agreement

A mobile home owner who rents a pitch on an unprotected site does not have statutory protection from eviction. The site owner does not need a possession order to require the mobile owner to leave at the end of the agreement.

A written agreement to rent a pitch might specify what how much notice the site owner needs to give to end it.

If there is no written agreement, the site owner can end the agreement by giving reasonable notice. There is no legal definition of a reasonable period. What period of notice is reasonable depends on the individual circumstances of each case.

There is no requirement to give notice at the end of a fixed term agreement unless this is specified in the contract.