I reproduce below the Teignbridge District Council Press Release of the response to the DCLG Committee Inquiry into Park Homes - sorry its a little lengthy:
COUNCIL LOBBIES FOR POSITIVE CHANGES TO PARK HOME REGULATIONS
Teignbridge District Council has taken a stand for the rights of Park Home residents, lobbying for major changes to regulations and laws which affect Park Home sites in response to a Government inquiry about their management.
The district has 1154 Park Homes across 54 sites, one of the highest proportions of any district in the country. It has a lot of experience enforcing site conditions and improving conditions for residents, which under current laws can be time-consuming, expensive and ineffective. The council says key measures are missing, such as a full application process to be able to run sites, the ability to turn down site license applications, a range of enforcement options other than formal prosecution, tighter controls on the reselling of homes, better protection for tenants renting mobile homes, and measures to reduce fuel poverty.
Under current laws and subject to a current planning permission being in place, councils are unable to refuse a licence application to run a site. This means that even if an applicant has a previous conviction under the Caravan and Control of Development Act 1960, this cannot influence the decision to issue a licence. This is compounded by only being able to enforce license conditions about maintaining sites by prosecuting site owners. This means that minor breaches can go unchallenged, or if they are tackled it means a time-consuming and expensive court case. The council believes that in many instances the money spent by owners defending these prosecutions would be better spent doing the required work on their sites.
In its response to the Government, Teignbridge argues that a range of enforcement options, such as the ability to serve formal notices requiring work to be done, would be a better alternative. It also says that councils should be free to step in and manage sites directly if there are major problems, and calls for a single set of standards to apply across the country, ending differing site requirements across district borders. At the moment site owners who operate sites in different districts cite this inconsistency and confusion over the rules as a big contributing factor to things going wrong.
Cllr Philip Vogel, Teignbridge Executive Spokesperson for Housing and Planning said:
“Park Home residents can be among our more vulnerable citizens, often they are older people who might not have all the support they need to deal with site owners. It’s therefore unacceptable that the rules governing Park Homes are so inconsistent and lack the powers we need to make life better for residents.
“Our proposals would also benefit the majority of respectable site owners and managers who are often thwarted by changing goalposts across districts and a lack of formal guidance on legal, financial and health and safety issues. Good site owners should not feel that a few give them a bad name.
“Among other things we don’t think it’s fair that someone renting a mobile home isn’t covered by the Housing Act, when even house boats have been brought under the Act before. We’re also concerned that site owners can benefit from a high turnover of residents as they get sale commission on their homes, giving less scrupulous owners very little incentive to work with residents and help make things right when problems occur. On top of this, residents may be limited to using only bottled or liquid gas as their only source of fuel in rural areas, without any way of comparing costs and buying fuel in a competitive market, or taking advantage of any discounts or subsidy schemes.
“All in all we think the current system means a rough deal for residents, respectable site owners and councils alike. It wouldn’t be difficult to put a lot of this right, but we need the Government to sit up and take notice of these issues.”
Also in the council’s response is a call for a system which would let residents and potential residents compare different Park Home sites on a like-for-like basis to help them choose the right place for them. Such a system would include comparisons of things like ground rent, the number of prosecutions against the site and more, helping people make an informed choice.
Avril Knapman is the owner of Grange Park in Abbotskerswell, which has 6 park homes on the site.
Mrs Knapman said:
“I like to work with the council and my residents to make sure things are done professionally. It is a shame that a small minority of site owners give others a bad name. I would certainly support clearer rules for owners and would like to see a body like A.C.A.S set up to be legally binding on all parties in disputes, instead of the expensive and ineffective system of court action. This should protect peoples’ rights and homes and the work and cost of site owners to make a good site.”
The Communities and Local Government Committee announced its inquiry in December 2011, but has yet to confirm timeframes for considering responses and making recommendations.
ENDS
For media queries please contact Tim Borrett, Communications Officer on 01626 215164 or Tim.Borrett@teignbridge.gov.uk.
Notes to Editors
1) About Park Homes: Park homes are residential mobile homes, some resembling bungalows and others closer to traditional caravans. Currently there are about 250,000 people living in park homes on more than 1700 sites in England and Wales. Park homes can be bought at relatively low prices. Although residents usually buy their Park Home, they have to pay the site owner a rent for the pitch on which the home is installed and for maintenance of the communal areas of the site.
2) Teignbridge District Council’s response to the Government inquiry follows in full:
Response to the Communities and Local Government Committees inquiry into park homes.
The committee is considering the adequacy of the current legislation as it affects park home owners, site operators and local authorities. The committee has suggested a number of areas that respondents may wish to comment on:
site fees;
the awarding and revocation of site licences
the regulation and enforcement of site license conditions;
the need for the manager of a site to be a “fit and proper” person and the enforcement of this requirement;
the regulation of parks owned by local authorities;
the protection of occupiers of park homes against harassment and illegal eviction; and
resale of park homes and resale fees.
This response relates to those areas which are of concern to residents of park homes within Teignbridge.
Awarding and revocation of site licences
Currently on application to the local authority, subject to a current planning permission being in place the Local Authority is unable to refuse a licence application. Therefore if an applicant has a previous conviction under the Caravan and Control of Development Act 1960 this cannot influence the decision to issue a licence. Therefore a fit and proper test with objective assessment criteria similar to those seen with the licensing of houses in multiple occupation would allow the local authority more scope to consider the suitability of the applicant. Information that would assist the local authority in assessing applications could include:
· Details of all interested parties in the business
· Address of other sites owned within and outside of Local Authority Area
Proposed Site Manager details
Details of other sites that the Site Manager has managed
Have you had any previous site licenses revoked?
Any previous convictions relating to mobile homes sites?
To ensure consistency of approach a prescribed form for the application would be required.
Regulation and enforcement of site license conditions
Currently the only enforcement action that can be taken on Mobile Home sites is prosecution of the site operator. Our experience is that this has limited success in improving standards on sites and in some cases the money spent to defend the case would be better spent improving the conditions. A suite of enforcement tools should be available to local authorities to improve standards and the living conditions for the residents. This could include improvement notices for minor breaches of the licence conditions, for example failure to keep the site clean and tidy. Prohibition notices for serious offences which pose an imminent risk to the safety of residents.
With regard to prosecution, currently the legislation allows the revocation of a site licence after 3 successful convictions. If this requirement was removed site owners will be more willing to deal with breaches of conditions in order to reduce the risk of losing their licence. There is a need for the introduction of control provisions, such as seen in housing legislation, where by the local authority can step in and take over management in the event of serious failings. Many local authorities have experience of managing sites of one sort or another.
Even within neighbouring local authorities there is inconsistency with regard to the adoption of the mobile home model standards and their enforcement. This does not assist when taking formal action as inevitably site owners will state the inconsistency and confusion as a mitigating factor especially if they operate sites across a number of districts. Therefore to improve the regulation and enforcement of site licences the conditions should be mandatory and the period for compliance with new standards should be set nationally.
Resale of mobile homes
On sites with non-compliance the point of sale offers an ideal opportunity for site owners to improve conditions and if appropriate ensure full compliance with the licence conditions. For example, where a mobile home is not on a concrete hard standing when the property is sold this gives the site owner the ideal opportunity to undertake the work without disturbing an occupying resident. This area should be considered and a model condition developed.
As it stands the ability of site owners to veto sales and charge a commission provides a positive disincentive for site owners to manage parks to a high standard, high turnover of residents being more profitable to them.
It is understandable that site owners would want some control over who resides on their parks and these are controlled by the site rules. Anything beyond reasonable restrictions, for example age, pet ownership etc would seem unnecessary and open to abuse. Additionally, residents would benefit from a laid down ground rent/rental procedure that would be applicable across all Park Homes in the country.
The right of a site owner to charge up to 10% commission on the value of a home, which is the sole property of the resident, puts them in a unique and inequitable position. Tighter controls on this would ensure fair market prices, and prevent harassment of residents.
It would benefit both existing and potential Park Homes residents if they were able to compare one site against another on like for like basis. Such a scheme could be administered through the TSA, and could include such items as breaches of licence, average ground rental etc.
Rented mobile homes
At present, mobile homes fall outside the scope of the Housing Act 2004 and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, thus placing the tenants of mobile homes in a weaker position than other tenants.
Mobile homes need to be brought within the scope of the Housing Act in the same way as house boats have been.
The Energy Market
Current Government policy encourages competition in the energy market. Where gas and electricity are available through the grid system, users can compare one energy provider against another and contract to whom they please. In the case of Park Homes where bottled or container gas is the only form of energy, residents in rural areas are restricted to local suppliers, and may not be able to claim fuel discounts in the case of low income. This inequality of supply and ability to claim needs to be considered.
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