“We are not a cash cow”: Bedfordshire park home owners go to Parliament over ‘archaic’ 10% commission rule
Owners of park homes in Bedfordshire are petitioning Parliament to change a law which means they have to give the site owners 10 per cent of their profits when selling their homes.
Under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, site owners are entitled to up to 10 per cent commission of the sale price of a park home sold on their land.
But some owners in the county say the money isn’t going back onto the sites as representatives from Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign get ready to head to Downing Street on Thursday May 15.
One park homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We're treated like second-rate citizens. We are not a cash cow. The insulting thing is that they seem to think that we're just a load of old biddies, old people who don't know what we're talking about.
“It is about the Mobile Home Act, which is really quite archaic and needs to be readdressed, because so many things have changed.”
There are more than 1,800 park home sites in England, and a large number of those who live on these sites are over the age of 60.
The campaign against the commission said: “This unfair practice traps residents in their homes, making it impossible for many to afford to move. In addition, site owners also charge crippling monthly pitch fees.”
Since the park home owners rent the land their properties sit on from the owners, they are also subject to a monthly ground rent charge, with some paying £300 a month.
Another person living on a park home site in Bedfordshire said: “I went into it without really looking into park homes. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have done it.”
This homeowner has been on a site for nearly four years and says that the site owner has not reinvested money from the commission of sold properties.
They said: “The condition of the park has gone down in the last few years, to the point where some of the roads are really bad.”
“It's been 40 years that these park owners have been earning 10 per cent off every single person who sold their park home. They pocket that cash and do not necessarily do anything for it.”
Joshua Reynolds MP and Dr Ben Spencer MP will join the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign as they travel to 10 Downing Street to present “10 reasons for No 10 to change the 10%” and the residents’ petition.
Forty park home residents, including ones from Bedfordshire, will meet in the Palace of Westminster to share their experiences with MPs and peers.
One of the park homeowners said: “All we've done is decide to downsize and live a nice, quiet life. This is a lovely community. People are amazing. They look after each other.”
The campaign added: “Site owners already make a substantial profit when they first sell the home, and they continue to profit on that original margin every time it changes hands. “They contribute absolutely nothing to earn this windfall, which can amount to as much as £50,000.”