A better deal for mobile home owners

This consultation proposes a number of reforms to the park homes sector, aimed at tackling a number of complaints made by residents of some mobile home site operators. These can include:

• blocking an owner’s sale of their home - without justifiable reason
• neglecting their sites and failing to make adequate repairs
• charging excessive pitch fees, breaching site rules and stopping owners from improving their homes

The measures are designed to ensure site operators who behave responsibly can continue to operate as they do already whilst the rogue operators are properly tackled - as well as being made to meet the cost of their negligence rather than the taxpayer picking up the bill.

The proposed changes include:

• ensuring compliance with site licence conditions by enabling the courts to impose unlimited fines on operators who do not manage their sites properly
• allowing local authorities to make a reasonable charge on site operators for their licensing services, which they are currently unable to do
• giving local authorities the power to carry out works on sites in an emergency or where the site operator has been found guilty of a breach of the licence, and charge the cost back to them
• strengthening the rules around the sale of mobile homes so that unscrupulous operators cannot interfere with owners selling to a qualifying buyer who they have chosen
• changing legislation to improve other residents’ rights to reflect their status as home owners by, for example, allowing them to carry out home improvements without seeking permission