Andy Creer & John de Waal consider the effect of the decision in Murphy v Wyatt
In a characteristically clear and illuminating judgment in the case of Murphy v Wyatt [2011] EWCA Civ 408, [2011] All ER (D) 112 (Apr) Lord Neuberger, the Master of the Rolls, has defined the parameters of the protection given by the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (MoHA 1983) to occupiers of caravans and mobile homes.
The two key questions which were the focus of the appeal were:
(i) Can someone who with their landlord’s agreement brings a mobile home onto land let to them for another purpose gain the protection of MoHA 1983? The answer given by the Court of Appeal was “No”.
(ii) Can MoHA 1983 apply to a letting of land that was more than just the pitch on which the mobile home was sited? The answer was again “No”.
Factual background
The appeal was from a decision in the Central London County Court in which the respondent/claimant landlord, Diane Murphy, sought possession of 1.7 acres of land let to the appellant/defendant tenant, Carol
