Tingdene Marinas Limited v Janet Maureen Jaffe
[2023] UKUT 16 (LC)
Janet Maureen Jaffe v Tingdene Marinas Limited
3 July 2024
[2024] EWCA Civ 751
Court of Appeal
Ms. Jaffe lives in a caravan on a lake. The marina owner tried to evict her, but she claimed legal protection for permanent residents of mobile homes. A legal document showed her living there was allowed, so she wins and can stay.
Key Facts
- •Ms. Jaffe lives in a Willerby caravan on a float at Hartford Marina.
- •The caravan is not attached to the float and can be moved on and off.
- •Tingdene Marinas Ltd. (Tingdene) owns the marina and served Ms. Jaffe with a notice to quit.
- •Ms. Jaffe claimed protection under the Mobile Homes Act 1983.
- •The issue is whether the land is a "protected site" under the 1983 Act.
- •A 1998 planning permission allowed for 15 houseboats for holiday use only.
- •A 2014 Certificate of Lawful Use certified the existing use of Ms. Jaffe's houseboat as a sole residence.
- •The dispute centers on the interpretation of the planning permission and the Certificate of Lawful Use.
Legal Principles
The Mobile Homes Act 1983 protects occupiers of permanent residential caravans on protected sites.
Mobile Homes Act 1983
A "protected site" requires a site license under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and planning permission not solely for holiday use.
Caravan Sites Act 1968, section 1(2); Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960
A Certificate of Lawful Use under section 191 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 can legitimize an existing use, even if it initially contravened planning permission.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 191
Interpretation of planning permission considers the ordinary meaning of words, context, and common sense.
Lambeth LBE v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2019] UKSC 33
Distinction between the scope of permitted use and limitations imposed by conditions in planning permission.
Winchester City Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2015] EWCA Civ 563
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The court found that the 2014 Certificate of Lawful Use superseded the 1998 planning permission, legitimizing Ms. Jaffe's residential use and establishing the site as a "protected site" under the 1983 Act.
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