MPs back greater park home support

Park homes are flying high on the government agenda at present, following calls by residents for greater protection in the event of mistreatment by site owners.

At present, static homes are legally considered as caravans rather than houses, even if you are a permanent resident. This means that regulations surrounding the sale and purchase of park homes, along with its utilities and maintenance, are not the same as for bricks and mortar properties.

Although the majority of park home site owners offer excellent facilities and an efficient service, there are occasions on which some operators may take advantage of lax legislation to provide an unacceptable standard of living. A number of operating companies also enforce their own rules on who can become a resident at their site, for instance preventing people under a certain age from renting a pitch.

Liberal Democrat Stephen Gilbert is among the MPs to have spoken out in support of regulation changes. “There seems to be a significant minority who use underhand practices,” he told the BBC website. “Local authorities are really hamstrung by the powers that they have at the moment.”

Prime Minister David Cameron is also an advocate of this increased protection, having campaigned on behalf of park home residents since 2004.

According to local government statistics, there are approximately 84,000 park homes in the UK, more than two thirds of which are occupied by people over 60 years of age. The same proportion of park home sites have a minimum age requirement in place for its residents.

Click here to read the BBC’s full article.

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