The Department for Communities has a statutory duty to review the Caravans Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 every five years. The last review took place in 2016 and the 2021 review has now opened for comment from interested stakeholders.

The 2011 Act introduced, for the first time in Northern Ireland, specific legislation controlling the rights of people who live in a caravan as their main home (i.e. for more than 12 months) on a site which is not solely for holiday or temporary accommodation and the dealings between these residential occupiers and the site owner.

It also controls the dealings between caravan park owners and those renting holiday caravan pitches for more than 28 days.

Communities minister Deirdre Hargey said: “This engagement will allow stakeholders to engage and provide their views and help inform the overall outcome of the review.

“The views of caravan owners and site owners and others in both the residential and holiday sector will help the cross-departmental working group determine what recommendations may be required to address potential concerns.

“I would therefore encourage those within the sector to take this opportunity to make your voice heard and help influence the findings of this review.”

The review questionnaire will run for 12 weeks from today until 8 March 2022.