Stop treating us like second-class citizens, say park home owners

Park home owners want 'unfair' selling fee scrapped Image caption, Park home owners are calling for greater rights By Peter Saull East Midlands political editor Published 4 hours ago Andy describes his static home in Leicestershire as his "castle". He is one of an estimated 160,000 park home residents in England, attracted by the affordability, security, sense of community and picturesque surroundings that this form of accommodation can provide.

But Andy says he feels "stuck" on a site where the landowner would take a 10% commission if he sells his home. After carrying out a review of the sales commission arrangement earlier this year, the government is facing calls to scrap it. However site owners argue the money is a "vital source of revenue" to support the upkeep of parks. Andy agreed to speak to BBC News on the condition his full identity and location would not be revealed, because he was worried how the site owner might react.

"We're just normal people. We just decide to live in a mobile static home. It's a house. It's where we live. It's our castle," he says. "We're after someone to just come in and look at us as normal people, not second-rate citizens." Andy would like to sell up and buy a new park home, but with 10% of the proceeds going to the site owner, the move would be difficult for him to afford. Many other park home owners feel the same. Image caption, Park home owner Ian Martin thinks the 10% sales commission is unfair When Ian Martin retired, he and his wife Elaine fell in love with the views of open countryside from the static home they bought in Tollerton, Nottinghamshire.

"If it comes a time when it's got to be sold, you want the maximum amount to go to the family," Ian says. In March, the government launched a "call to evidence" to establish the rationale for the sales commission. A separate report, published in 2022, found there was no "shared understanding" on what the arrangement was for. MPs debated the issue in the House of Commons' second chamber, Westminster Hall, in April, and backbenchers from across the political spectrum called for the payments to stop.

However housing minister Matthew Pennycook said it was a "complex problem", and pointed out that many site operators argued that a loss of income would threaten the "financial viability" of parks. Image source, UK Parliament Image caption, Labour MP James Naish opened a debate on park homes in Parliament in April The sales commission is not the only cause of frustration for park home owners. Labour MP James Naish, who opened the debate in April, describes the sites as a "cowboy industry", with a lack of proper regulation.

Naish, who represents Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, says residents face issues with water and energy bills, often "astronomical" pitch fees and difficulties resolving disputes. As an example of this, Andy says he and his neighbours have been waiting 12 years for repairs to their site's car park. Naish says the "deeply unfair" sales commission is the "flagship issue" for park home residents though, and he is urging the government to announce it is taking action before the year is out.

Andy and thousands of others will be waiting anxiously for a decision. "If you owned a house, you would not want to give 10% of a £500,000 house to someone who does not do anything, would you?" he says. The Holiday and Residential Park Homes Association (HARPA), which represents site owners, said: "Responsible residential park businesses rely on commission as a vital source of revenue to support the upkeep of the park and to make continual improvements which are in the interests of everyone.

"The commission model is designed to support people on low or fixed incomes. "It helps to ensure that the initial purchase price of park homes and the annual pitch fees remain lower than they would otherwise be. "In this way, park home living - with all of its associated economic and social benefits - continues to be a more affordable option for many people in or near retirement who wish to maintain their independence." Get in touch Tell us which stories we should cover in Nottingham Contact form Contact form Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook , external , on X , external , or on Instagram , external .

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