Owain Rhys James recently appeared before the Residential Property Tribunal in a Mobile Homes Act appeal. Instructed on behalf of the Respondent Local Authority he was successful in arguing that the Tribunal’s power to apply new conditions to mobile home site licences under the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 was limited to conditions which were related to those which were successful in the appeal.
The matter arose in proceedings where a qualifying residents’ association had been added as a Second Respondent and sought to have new conditions imposed. Those new conditions had no connection to the conditions originally set by the Local Authority or to those the subject of the appeal.
On behalf of the Local Authority, and with the Applicant site owner adopting the same position, it was argued that given the limited nature of the Tribunal’s power to impose new conditions there had to be some connection between those conditions which were varied or cancelled and the new ones imposed by the Tribunal. It was of particular importance that the Local Authority determined which conditions were required for each site and, given the narrow nature of the right of appeal which the site owner had, it was not appropriate for the Tribunal to impose wholly new conditions at the invitation of the residents.
Dealing with the jurisdiction argument as a preliminary point the Residential Property Tribunal for Wales held that its powers under Section 12 of the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 were limited to imposing new conditions which were associated with conditions which had been varied or cancelled and that it was not open to the Tribunal to impose wholly new conditions.
The Tribunal also dealt with the substantive appeal as to whether the conditions imposed were “unduly burdensome”. It is believed to be the first appeal under the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 to have been before the Tribunal.
Owain regularly acts for Local Authorities and for private individuals in property disputes ranging from ownership and boundary disputes, professional negligence to public law and planning matters. For further information or to instruct Owain, do not hesitate to contact this clerk.