The Mobile Homes Act 2013 (Commencement and Saving Provision) (England) Order 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order brings into force sections 13 and 14 of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 (‘the Act’) on 1st April 2014.

Section 13 of the Act increases the penalty for the offence in section 1(2) of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (‘the 1960 Act’), of operating a caravan site without a licence and the offence in section 26(5) of the 1960 Act, of obstructing a person exercising a power of entry. The offence of operating a site without a licence is now subject to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, and the offence of obstructing a person exercising a power of entry is now subject to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

Section 14 of the Act amends the 1960 Act to provide that where any offence under the 1960 Act is committed in relation to land in England, and is committed by a body corporate, in certain circumstances an officer of the body corporate may be found guilty of the offence as well as the body corporate, and punished accordingly.

Article 3 of this Order makes saving provision in relation to sections 13 and 14 of the Act, with the effect that the increased fines set out in the amendments made by section 13, and the offence introduced by the amendments made by section 14, apply only in relation to offences committed on or after 1st April 2014.

Article 4 of this Order makes saving provision in relation to applications for the issue and consent to the transfer of a site licence, and for the alteration of site licence conditions, where the application was made before 1st April 2014. The saving provides that the amendments made by sections 1 and 2 of the Act, to sections 3, 8 and 10 of the 1960 Act, do not apply to such applications.

Article 5 of this Order makes saving provision for proceedings under section 7 and section 8 of the 1960 Act which are pending in the magistrates’ court before 1st April 2014, to enable these proceedings to continue to be dealt with by the magistrates’ court on and after that date.