Stuart Anderson MP demands better deal for South Shropshire park home residents
Stuart Anderson MP has said that the new government must deliver a fairer deal for England’s 159,000 park home residents. He has called on the government to urgently review the park home ‘sales commission’, which allows site owners to charge residents up to 10% on the resale of a home. Almost all park operators charge the full commission rate on every sale. The payment is unique to the park homes sector and is not replicated in any other sector. Stuart has said that the payment is an “unjustifiable charge” which is becoming “increasingly outdated and unfair.”
Under existing legislation, park home residents must pay a commission on the resale of their property to the owner of the site. The maximum rate is prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of State. It is currently set at 10% of the sale price, meaning that residents only receive 90% of the sale price. The commission costs an average of £11,000 per sale. This is often more than many residents have in their own savings and negatively impacts upon their ability to afford new accommodation of an equivalent value if they need to move on.
Park home residents in South Shropshire have told Stuart that they feel “financially trapped” in their properties due to the prospect of being charged for moving if their circumstances happen to change. Others have added that the commission is not justified because it is not earned and because maintenance costs are included in other fees that residents face – primarily the pitch fee, which averages £172 per month.
The maximum rate was reduced from 15% in 1983 but has not been reduced any further since then. In light of this, Stuart has written to the Secretary of State to request that the charge is immediately reduced in the Autumn Budget on 30th October 2024, with a view to abolishing it in the longer term.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“Residents in park homes across South Shropshire have raised very real concerns with me about the commission rate payable on the resale of their homes, currently set at 10% of the sale price. It is an unjustifiable charge which traps residents into their properties, unable to move on if their circumstances change. The commission is becoming increasingly outdated and unfair. The Secretary of State has power to review the commission and the rate that is set. I have called on her to do so – with a view to abolishing it in the longer term, while taking steps to reduce it when she delivers her first Autumn Budget on 30th October 2024.”
In England, there are 85,000 households living on 1,832 parks. Shropshire contains the fourth largest number of park homes per Local Authority area, with a total of 39 sites. Many park home residents are 65 years or older, with 78 per cent being fully retired.
