There is one vitally important piece of information, crucial to the future health, wealth and happiness of anyone considering the purchase of a Park Home, carefully omitted from all the glossy adverts, glowing write ups in specialist magazines and the press, all seeking to glorify park home life as the perfect lifestyle for those approaching, or have reached, retirement age. Sell up your bricks and mortar homes, release the capital and buy a park home leaving you worry free with a nice little nest egg left over to spend on treating yourself to all the things you’ve always wished for, but could never afford. Sounds to good to be true doesn’t it? Yes it can be. But get it wrong and the idyllic life you have been led to expect could turn into an horrific nightmare if the park you have chosen is owned, or is purchased later, by an unscrupulous park owner. It is only then, when its too late, that you find out the hard way that the missing vital piece of information, carefully not mentioned before you parted with your hard earned cash was, that all the laws you took for granted whilst living in bricks and mortar in the outside world, are of no use to you now. The only law that applies in practice on a park home site is the law as decreed by the park owner, who will be obeyed at all times. Step out of line, dare to ask questions, or fail to accede to his constant demands for even more of your hard earned cash imposed by means of high pitch fee increases and other charges and you will be branded a trouble maker. Woe betide you then!!!
You will of course be showered with comforting assurances by the charming park owner or sales person whilst engaged in the very simple buying process. ( a park home is not housing, its classed as a caravan, therefore a chattel, and is purchased in exactly the same way as a car or TV etc.,) more than likely the park owner or his agent will have persuaded you that it is not necessary to employ the services of a solicitor for the buying process. But in view of the many thousands of pounds of your savings being invested in the home, PHRAA would strongly recommend that a solicitor is used, if only to oversee the transaction. Remember a park home is chattel, but unlike buying a car or a TV, if things go wrong you cant take it back.
Many new park homeowners will find that every thing is fine and park home life is every bit as good as it has been portrayed, especially if the park has a good and caring owner. Even if the park proves to be owned by an Unscrupulous Park Owner, (UPO) everything may appear to be fine at first, especially if the park is undergoing development, *(older homes being removed, being replaced with new ones,)* and the park owner has several empty new park homes standing unsold on the park. He will go to any lengths to keep his existing new residents happy, for obvious reasons. This PHRAA refers to as ‘The HONEYMOON PERIOD’ and may last for weeks or months depending on the whim of the UPO. One thing is certain that it will end very abruptly the first time you ask questions or have reason to complain.
The other increasingly common event, which shatters the lives of the previously happy and contented park homeowners is when they wake up one morning to the news that the park has been sold. This comes as a tremendous shock as residents usually have no idea that the park was even up for sale. Unfortunately for the helpless residents, in 9 out of 10 cases these days the park will have been sold to a UPO., who usually appears on the park accompanied by ‘jack booted’ henchmen, and residents are soon left in no doubt that their previous happy and trouble free park home lifestyle has gone forever. IT IS NOW THAT DESPERATE RESIDENTS TURN TO THE LAW FOR HELP.
The law governing park homes is the MOBILE HOMES ACT 1983/2006 which innocent prospective park homeowners will have been assured affords them compete protection and peace of mind. In practice however, especially where the park is owned by a UPO., the Act is not worth the paper it is printed on, partly because it is riddled with more loopholes than a sieve, every one of which, when manipulated by his ‘clever’ solicitors, favour the park owner. But worst of all is the fact that the Government have placed the homeowners in an impossible position, made far worse by the recent October 2006 amendments to the Act, by placing the entire burden of responsibility for enforcing the Act (law) firmly on the shoulders of the aggrieved park homeowner. In other words should the park owner……
(1)….. persistently prevent the homeowner for exercising his legal right to sell their home.
(2)…. enter on to the homeowners pitch (plot) and remove their property and destroy their garden area.
(3)…. commit acts of harassment, intimidation, abuse, bullying, threats of, or actual acts of violence against the homeowner.
(4)…. fail to honour agreements, written or otherwise entered into with the homeowner at the time of purchase.
(5)….. fail to provide homeowner with a Mobile Home Act Agreement (contract)
(6)…. fail to maintain services, which being part of the agreement, the homeowner has a right to expect.
(7)…. fail to recognise, or deliberately obstruct the formation of, a properly constituted residents association.
(8)….. fail to provide documentary evidence to support claims for increased pitch fee increases or other charges as required by the Act, when requested to do so by homeowners.
If any of the above listed or any other of the numerous breaches of the Act are committed against homeowners by a UPO the only course of action open to homeowners under park home law, is to undertake Court Action against the park owner. This means that the only method of ENFORCING PARK HOME LAW due entirely to the fact that Government have refused to provide any official means of enforcement, falls on those least able to defend or protect themselves. The mainly elderly, therefore vulnerable, mostly 70, 80 90 year old pensioner members of our society who are the majority of the estimated 250,000 plus park home population. By failing to include provision, within the Act, for the necessary powers of enforcement, the Government have forced the oppressed victims to prosecute their oppressors, irrespective of whether they have the will, the health, or the means to undertake such a traumatic and potentially financially ruinous experience, as many who have tried, even when believing they have a cast iron case, have found out to their cost.
The first step is to try and find one of the very few Solicitors who have even a scant knowledge of park home law. This will cost around £175 plus VAT per hour. On top of this will be Barrister and Court costs, plus the costs of the Hearing totaling several thousand pounds. It will certainly take many months for the case to get to court. Two years is quite common before a date for the hearing is arranged. Once a date for the hearing is set it is quite common for the park owner or his Solicitor to contact the Court a few days before the case is due to be heard, requesting that the case be put back because he is ill, is out of the country or any other ploy he can use to delay the case. This can and does happen time and time again, delaying the hearing for many more months during which time the costs and the intolerable stress levels for the helpless homeowner are rising astronomically. Make no mistake about it Government has handed the unscrupulous park owners the absolute power, through the Mobile Homes Act, now made even worse by the 2006 amendments to that Act, to totally dominate the lives of park homeowners nationwide and while this present Mobile Homes Act remains as it is, there is nothing any park homeowner can do about it. As all too many distraught park homeowners who contact PHRAA openly describe their situation as “SECOND CLASS CITIZENS LIVING IN PRISON CAMPS FOR PENSIONERS”. Is this what you have paid, or are about to pay, £100,000 - £300,000 price of a park home for?
For the park homeowner taking Legal Action against a park owner in an attempt to obtain his rights is not for the faint hearted especially bearing in mind the advanced age of the average park homeowner and his limited financial resources. Many have been forced to abandon cast iron cases through lack of funds or the physical and mental stress involved having a detrimental effect on their health. There is also the fact that the park owner has the funds to employ the services of top legal firms who are specialists in park home law meaning that the odds of obtaining justice, especially against a UPO, are stacked heavily against the homeowner. Just to illustrate the point of how long it takes and how expensive taking Court Action against the park owner is in practice, here are four examples from our own park owners parks.
(1)….. Resident aged 79 took our site owner to court for removing and destroying a large section of his plot together with stealing and destroying the residents storage shed complete with its contents. The case took over 3 years to get to court at a cost to the resident of over £11,000 which as he won he was awarded his costs plus a small amount of compensation. However, 4 years on, the site owner has still not complied with the court Order to restore the damage. Resident was 79 when the case started, 81 when it finally reached Court.
(2)….. Resident, elderly lady 81 years of age, suffering ill health had to move into sheltered accommodation. Home placed on market at £97,000 as valued. Buyer found within a week at asking price. Site owner illegally put off this buyer and every other buyer by making untrue statements. Resident instigated court action over two years ago. Each time a date is set for hearing site owner makes excuses to the court stating he cannot appear on set date. Case put back several times now due either December 2007 or early in 2008. Resident besides being distraught is having to continue paying pitch fees, council tax and other charges on a home she cannot occupy or sell.
(3)…. Elderly lady resident, same park, same site owner, similar case. 2 years waiting to get to Court. No date set as yet.
(4)….. Elderly widower living alone, suffered from serious illness. Had to go into care Hospital. Placed home on market. Site owner illegally blocked sale for 2 years. Father died. Son inherited his fathers Park Home and site owner has been blocking sales for over 4 years. Son lost over £10,000 to date attempting to obtain justice. Still has not sold. Son faced with yet further Court Action against site owner for illegally blocking sales.
For the Government to bring out laws ostensibly to protect the welfare of park homeowners, but place the entire responsibility for the enforcement of those laws solely on the shoulders of 60, 70, 80,and 90 year old pensioner park homeowners is nothing short of outrageous.
PHRAA is fighting for the rights of park homeowners to a fair deal on many fronts and will never rest until the Government recognises that this archaic Mobile Homes Act is responsible for the continued untenable plight of park homeowners and that there is an urgent need to take action NOW to bring in and watertight legislation to protect park homeowners backed up by real, Government backed, powers of enforcement. At present Park Homeowners are subject to laws akin to laws in force in 1607 that kept the peasants oppressed. Until new effective legislation is put in place park homeowners will remain the peasants of 2007 left to the mercy of the unscrupulous local Baron. ( UNSCRUPULOUS PARK OWNER)
If you or any of your fellow residents have had similar experiences please let PHRAA know. We need your evidence to put pressure on government. Names will not be divulged without permission. Help PHRAA to help you.
Compiled for PHRAA by Ron Joyce. General Secretary. August 2007.
