Some recent news reports have highlighted the difficulty faced by some local authorities by the occupation on a permanent basis of holiday homes on sites where the licence requires the homes to be unoccupied for part of the year. These are not park homes and their owners do not enjoy the protection of the Mobile Homes Acts.
East Riding Council has issued enforcement notices to occupants of Lakeminster Park at Beverley:
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/130-residents-lose-dream-homes/story-19535316-detail/story.html#axzz2a4aQQ6q3
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Chalet-sales-ban-Lakeminster/story-19551457-detail/story.html#axzz2a4aQQ6q3
Humberside Police are investigating possible fraud and plan to submit a file to the Crown Prosecution Service. The site owner also owns residential parks.
A similar situation is facing Chelmsford Borough Council in relation to Hayes Farm Caravan Park owned by Leisure Parks Real Estate Ltd:
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/9007658.Couples_face_threat_of_homeless_winter/
Leisure Parks Real Estate Ltd also owns residential parks and was prosecuted by Isle of Wight Council for several counts of misrepresentation and harassment.
The above situations have been newsworthy, but the problem is widespread nationwide as East Lindsey District Council is aware of many caravans which are occupied on a permanent basis in places where it is not permitted. This has not grabbed the headlines! No doubt many other local authorities have similar problems.
The problems are:
1. that purchasers of holiday homes rarely or likely never use a solicitor to handle the purchase so that no local authority search is performed which would reveal that the site licence is for holiday homes or that there is no site licence.
2. that local authorities may not take enforcement action as they may have to provide alternative accommodation to those found to be in breach of planning law.
At present the law does not place the onus on site owners to ensure that purchasers of holiday homes know that they must leave the site unoccupied for part of the year. Perhaps the law needs to be changed to make vendors of holiday homes responsible for making the terms of the site licence known to prospective purchasers, if indeed there is a site licence.
Your suggestions of how these situations can be prevented from happening are invited.
