Mobile Home Owners - Your Rights

What do we mean by a 'mobile home'?

A mobile home can be described as 'any structure designed or adapted for living in which is capable of being moved by road from one place to another'.

In addition to conventional caravans and mobile homes the definition may also include touring caravanettes, dormobiles and Chalets.

Is there a law that protects my rights as a mobile home owner?

If you own your mobile home but rent the ground or 'pitch' where it is based, your rights are contained within the Mobile Homes Act 1983.  The Act covers all agreements between site owners and mobile home occupiers whether they began before or after 1983.

To be protected under the act you need to satisfy the following 4 conditions:

-         Your property must be a mobile home

-         You must have permission to pitch your home on a site

-         Your mobile home is your only or main residence

-         Your mobile home is on a protected site

What is a protected site?

A protected site is one which requires a site licence and has planning permission for use as a residential site.  Holiday sites and sites where there is limit on how many days you can live on the site are excluded.  Other exclusions include:-

-         Mobile homes stationed on building and engineering sites

-         County Council sites providing accommodation for gypsies

-         Travelling caravans stationed for up to 2 nights

-         A mobile home situated within the boundary of a dwelling house

-         A mobile home sited on agricultural land used by seasonal workers

What are the rights of a mobile home owner?

Mobile home owners protected under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 are entitled to a written statement.  The statement is an agreement between you, the home owner and the site owner.  The statement includes the names and addresses of the home owner and site owner, the date the agreement commenced, a description of the land and details of your rights and responsibilities.

The site owner must supply the written statement within 3 months of the agreement being made and you can apply to the county court, at any time after that, to get a written statement if you have not received one.

Terminating your agreement

If you want to end your agreement you must give the site owner 4 weeks notice in writing.

If the site owner wants to end the agreement and regain possession of the pitch they must obtain a court order.  To do this they would need to prove one of the following:-

-         You are not occupying the property as your only or principal home

-         The age and condition of your mobile home is such that it is having a harmful effect on the site, or is likely to do so in the next 5 years

-         You have broken a condition of your agreement.  Common breaches include failure to pay pitch fees or to keep the mobile home in a decent state of repair.  The site owner must give you a reasonable time to put right any breaches.  The court must also consider whether it is reasonable for the agreement to be terminated.

Right to sell your mobile home

You are allowed to sell your mobile home on the site and pass on or 'assign' the agreement to a person approved by the site owner.  The site owner can not withhold permission without good reason.  The only proper ground for refusal is objection by the new owner.

The site owner is entitled to a commission of up to a maximum 10% of the sale price.

Other terms of the agreement

You may agree with the site owner to include a number of other terms within the agreement.  It is worth including terms related to the following:-

The amount of rent and service charges payable by the occupier, how often the rent is paid and how often the rent is reviewed (usually annually).

The maintenance and repair of the site by the site owner and the maintenance and repair of the mobile home by the occupier.

Access by the site owner to the site on which the occupier is entitled to station their mobile home.

The right of the occupier to quiet enjoyment.

What happens if I die?

If you, the home owner dies, a spouse living with you at the time of death can take over or 'succeed' to the agreement.  If there is no surviving spouse, then it passes to a member of the family, if that member was living with you at the time of death.

If there is nobody entitled to succeed then the agreement passes under your will or intestacy.  In this case the inheritor will have no right to occupy the mobile home nor assign it to another member of the family, but may sell the home on the site.