To ask the Minister for the Economy whether caravan owners are entitled to refunds for site and other associated fees for the periods of lockdown when they were not permitted to access their caravan.

The Caravans Act (NI) 2011, which falls within the remit of the Department for Communities, requires that caravan owners must be provided with a written agreement which constitutes a consumer contract and should include the express terms of the agreement and site fees.

The agreement is subject to a test of fairness under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the ‘Act’). As a regulator under the Act, the Department for the Economy’s Trading Standards Service (TSS) provides ongoing advice and guidance to caravan owners on consumer rights issues via Consumerline. However, the TSS has no remit to facilitate the refund of site and other associated fees as the Act does not allow for the assessment of the price payable for goods or services and therefore site fees cannot be assessed for fairness.

Caravan owners should refer to their written agreement to review exactly what the park owner is contracted to provide, and to assess if the contract includes any terms which might offer them some cover for a situation similar to that experienced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, written DfE guidance including “Caravan Holiday Homes – questions you should ask” and further guidance on site owners and occupiers’ obligations is published on the Department for the Economy website at: https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/caravan-holiday-homes and on the NI Direct website.