From time to time park owners will experience a customer abandoning their caravan at the end of their licence agreement because they cannot afford the cost of removal.
What to do with abandoned holiday caravans?
An attractive option for dealing with abandoned caravans is to either sell or scrap it. However before a park owner is able to do this they must follow a specific procedure set out in the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, “the Act”. A park owner who fails to follow the set procedure and sells or scraps the caravan may find themselves faced with a disgruntled caravan owner years down the line and the risk of being sued for unlawfully selling their property.
What is the Torts Act procedure?
By following the set procedure the park owner provides themselves with a defence for selling or scrapping the caravan. The procedure is fairly simple and requires the park owner to send a caravan owner a Torts Notice. However there are specific legal requirements that the Notice must meet. Any notice sent to the caravan owner which does not meet the legal requirements will not provide a defence to the park owner, therefore it is important that a park owner ensures all requirements have been met before selling or scrapping the caravan.
A park owner should also ensure that they document each stage of the process such as keeping copies of all correspondence and proof of postage.
Before following the torts procedure a park owner may also want to consider making every effort to contact the caravan owner in order to negotiate a deal which will resolve the problem.
Find out more
For further help or support, please contact our specialist Parks team who will be happy to provide bespoke advice and guidance.
