Park Homes: Sales Commission Charges

8. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of sales commission charges on park home residents.

The Government appreciate fully the long-standing concern among park home residents about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon the sale of a park home. On 5 March, we published a call for evidence in relation to the said commission payments so that we will have the information necessary to act and provide the clarity and certainty that park home residents and site owners have rightly been demanding.

Park home residents in Brecon and Radnor, and indeed across the entire country, describe the 10% sales commission as a deeply unfair hit on their life savings, often amounting to tens of thousands of pounds. With the Government’s call for evidence now under way, what assessment has the Minister made of whether this charge is fair and whether residents are receiving value for money?

I fully understand the hon. Gentleman’s desire to secure change in relation to this matter, and I can assure him that I share his eagerness to proceed quickly. Unfortunately, the research undertaken by the previous Government was not conclusive as to either the purpose of the commission or the impact of its removal or reduction. The final report recommended further work to clarify the rationale of the commission so that the Government can make informed policy choices, hence the call for evidence, which I hope he and park home owners in his constituency are engaging with.

I welcome the Government’s new call for evidence. Perhaps unsurprisingly, park home owners across South Dorset continue to be deeply frustrated with the unfair 10% sales commission slapped on all park homes. The current system feels unfair as it punishes one group disproportionately. With that in mind, will the Minister ensure that park home owners are not forgotten and finally end this unfair 10% sales commission charge, and ensure that these reforms sit alongside wider reforms to leasehold?

I again emphasise that I appreciate the frustration among park home owners. Unfortunately, we do not have the evidential basis that we need to act. We will need to make a decision on the basis of evidence gathered through the call for evidence that is taking place, and then take into account the impact on park homes of all sizes to ensure fairness and transparency, but I reassure my hon. Friend that we will act once we have the information and evidence that we seek.