Janet Maureen Jaffe v Tingdene Marinas Limited
[2024] EWCA Civ 751
Tingdene Marinas Limited v Janet Maureen Jaffe
20 January 2023
[2023] UKUT 16 (LC)
Upper Tribunal
Ms Jaffe lives in a houseboat that's basically a caravan on a float. Even though it was originally meant for holidays, the council later said it was okay for her to live there permanently. This means she's protected by a law that helps people who live in caravans.
Key Facts
- •Ms Jaffe lives on a houseboat (a caravan on a float) at Hartford Marina.
- •The houseboat is moored to a pontoon on a lake.
- •She was served with a notice to quit by the appellant.
- •Ms Jaffe claims protection under the Mobile Homes Act 1983.
- •The 1998 planning permission was for holiday use only.
- •A 2014 certificate of lawful use certified the houseboat's use as a sole residence.
Legal Principles
Definition of 'caravan' under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.
Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 29
Mobility test for caravans – must be capable of being moved as a whole.
Carter v Secretary of State for the Environment [1994] 1 WLR 1212
Mobile Homes Act 1983 applies to agreements allowing stationing of a mobile home on a protected site for primary residence.
Mobile Homes Act 1983, section 1
Definition of 'protected site' – requires a site licence unless planning permission overrides holiday-use restrictions.
Caravan Sites Act 1968, section 1(2)
A protected site must have planning permission.
Balthasar v Mullane [1986] 51 P & CR 107
Construction of planning permissions – natural and ordinary meaning of words.
Trump International Golf Club Limited v Scottish Ministers [2015] UKSC 74
Section 191 Certificate of Lawful Use – can change permitted use.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 191
Outcomes
Ms Jaffe's agreement entitles her to station a statutory caravan on land.
The Willerby caravan (part of the houseboat) is a statutory caravan, and her agreement allows its placement on the water (considered land).
Ms Jaffe's pitch is a protected site.
The 2014 certificate of lawful use, granted under section 191 of the 1990 Act, overrides the holiday-use restriction in the 1998 planning permission, making the site a protected site under the 1968 Act.
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