Partner Karen Jones, in our leading Planning & Environmental Law team, examines whether a mobile home is classed as a "building" within the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended).
The Valuation Office Agency has recently considered whether a mobile home can fall within the definition of “building” within the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended).
Regulation 40 of the CIL Regulations allows for areas of “parts of in-use buildings” to be off-set against new build floor space in calculating any CIL liability.
The Appellant argued that the mobile home had been used as a dwelling house for 20 years and was a building within the meaning of the CIL Regulations. The Appellant argued that the floorspace of this mobile home should have been given credit and off-set against the calculated CIL liability.
The Council argued that the primary factors in considering whether a building exists are size, permanence and physical attachment to the land. The Council’s position was that the mobile home lacked physical attachment to the site and could not be properly described as a building.
The Valuation Officer referred to Section 29 of the Caravans Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 which states that a caravan is “any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer)”. The Valuation Officer reviewed the available evidence and concluded that the mobile home was a caravan and not a building. The Valuation Officer concluded that the mobile home was not permanently attached to the ground and was capable of being moved.
In light of this conclusion the mobile home floor space could not be off-set against the new build area. This assessment appears to be fact specific and you should seek specialist advice in respect of CIL should you wish to challenge the basis of any calculation by the Council.
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
