Part of running a caravan site involves the collection of debt and eviction of tenants – for a variety of different reasons you may need to remove tenants from your site.
Shelter explains that park home residents who have a contract with the owner of a protected site may be protected under the Caravan Sites Act 1968. This applies to all occupiers of park homes who:
a) live on a protected site (one which requires a site licence, or would if it were not owned by the local authority), and b) have a residential contract with the park owner (this includes agreements under the Mobile Homes Act 1983).
How you remove tenants from your site is of paramount importance and, if not done carefully, could result in a lengthy and costly lawsuit.
How residents are protected from harassment is defined in the Caravan Sites Act, as amended by the Housing Act 2004, as any action that interferes or is likely to interfere with the peace and comfort of the occupier, or the persistent withdrawal of services or facilities reasonably required for the occupation of the caravan on the site.
These acts must be carried out within the knowledge that they are likely to cause the occupier to abandon the caravan, remove it from the site, or to refrain from exercising any right in relation to the caravan.
Park home occupiers covered by the Act are protected from eviction during the period of their contract – and after their contract expires, unless a court order for possession has been obtained. Occupiers are protected against the actions of site owners and their agents.
Offences under the Act are both civil and criminal offences, and action can be brought in the same way as action under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.