What section 1 of the 2023 Act did
Section 1 of the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023 amended Chapter 2 of Schedule 1 to the Mobile Homes Act 1983, which is the schedule that sets out how an annual pitch fee review is carried out. Before the amendment, paragraph 20 built the pitch fee presumption around the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Section 1 replaced that reference with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), so the presumption in paragraph 20(A1) now runs on CPI rather than RPI.
The change applies only to the index used in the presumption. It does not alter the 28 clear days' notice requirement, the paragraph 18(1) factors that can reduce or negate the presumption, or the form requirements under paragraph 25A. A notice or statement that gets those other parts wrong can still be challenged on its own terms, separately from which index it quotes.
Where it applies
Section 1 extends to England and Wales only. It does not touch pitch fee review provisions in Scotland, which sit under separate legislation and are covered on the England, Wales or Scotland page. A reader checking a Scottish pitch fee review notice should not expect the CPI substitution to apply there.
When it took effect, and how that date was set
The substitution commenced on 2 July 2023. The date was fixed by commencement regulations made under the 2023 Act itself. That is why the practical question for any given review is what date the review in question falls on.
A pitch fee review with a review date before 2 July 2023 falls to be assessed against the old RPI-based presumption that applied at the time. A review date on or after 2 July 2023 falls to be assessed against the CPI-based presumption. The review date is what fixes which version applies.
Reading a determination that reasons in RPI
Some published First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber determinations reason in RPI, because the review date they concerned fell before 2 July 2023. That reasoning was correct for the law as it stood on that review date. It does not describe the presumption that applies to a review date falling on or after 2 July 2023.
Before relying on any determination that reasons in RPI, check the review date it concerned against 2 July 2023. A determination is evidence of how the pitch fee provisions were applied to one set of facts on one review date. The How to Read a Tribunal Decision page sets out what a case reference means and how to locate the review date within a determination. For a specific dispute, the If You Disagree, What Actually Happens page covers what an occupier does while a pitch fee figure remains unagreed.