All Consultees - Draft Caravan and Mobile Homes Bill

11 June 2008

I am proposing to introduce legislation as a Private Members' Bill, to the Assembly, which would provide improved legal protection in Northern Ireland for persons who own caravans and mobile homes. As part of the legislative process I am conducting a consultation exercise by informing a number of stakeholders and interested parties, a full list of whom is attached at Annex A, inviting comments and suggestions regarding the proposed Bill. Once the Bill has been drafted, a copy will be circulated inviting further comment.

The current legislative provisions for caravan owners in Northern Ireland are considered in the Caravan's Act (NI) 1963. This Act is primarily concerned with land usage for caravan sites and the licensing of such sites by district councils. It does not consider particular provisions for caravan owners and static caravan owners and permanent residents in caravans are not regarded in the same way as tenants. They are therefore not afforded any rights of tenure. The type of problems that arise include; having to buy and sell from site owners; restrictions on only using services provided by site owners; no written agreements; unfair contracts and being forced to vacate sites. There are also important differences between the definition of a caravan in Northern Ireland compared to elsewhere in the UK.

There is currently no specific legislation in place in Northern Ireland for caravan owners to regulate or safeguard them, nor does The Caravans Act (NI) 1963 provide security of tenure for residents of mobile homes or for agreements between the owners of caravans, mobile homes or park homes and site owners; separate legislation is therefore required to provide protection for owners of caravans, mobile homes and park homes.

The Draft Caravan and Mobile Homes Bill will address the following issues:

a. Redefine the definition of caravan in Northern Ireland so that it:

(1) includes caravan, mobile homes and park homes and;
(2) bring the definition into line with the definition that exists in Great
Britain.

b. Provide protection for owners of caravans, mobile homes or park homes and who rent their pitch from a site owner by making it an offence to harass, interfere with the peace or comfort, persistently withdraw or withhold reasonably required services, or unlawfully evict the occupiers. Anyone guilty of such an offence should be liable on summary conviction to a fine and/or imprisonment.

c. Place a statutory duty on the Department of Social Development to:
(1) Require that the owner of a caravan, mobile home or park home site give a written agreement to all existing residents, who own their caravan, mobile home or park home and rent their pitch from the site owner, by a specified date, and in the case of proposed occupiers a written agreement before an agreement on letting stance is made;

(2) Ensure that the terms of such written agreements are approved by the Department, and

(3) Empower the Minister to make all necessary regulations to implement (c) (1) - (3) and enable the enforcement of responsibilities for caravan, mobile home and park home residents and site owners.

The consultation period begins on 16 June 2008 and runs until 12 September 2008. Any comments you wish to make should be sent to:

Annette Holden
South Down UUP Constituency Office
Causeway Road
NEWCASTLE
Co Down
BT33 0DL

Telephone: 028437 24400
Email john.mccallister@btconnect.com

A copy of the research document explaining in full, the disparity between the current Northern Ireland legislation and the rest of the UK regarding these issues, can be found on my website at www.johnmccallister.org. Alternatively, please contact the above if you require a hard copy.

Yours faithfully
John McCallister
MLA for South Down