Park Home Life Continued………………

So what protection does the Residential Caravan Owner have?  In short, currently very little.  There are two regulatory bodies involved in the Residential Caravan Market.  Firstly there is the National Caravan Council (NCC), this body self regulates the Residential Caravan Manufacturer, secondly there is the British Homes and Holiday Park Association (BH & HPA), this body self regulates the Caravan Park Owners.  Increasingly manufacturers are setting up their own parks so these two bodies have virtually become one, but make no mistake, both of these self regulatory bodies protect the manufacturer and park owner more so than the Residential Caravan Owner.  As previously stated the Residential Caravan Owner on a licensed park comes under the remitt of the Mobile Homes Act 1983, and although it sets out a number of things that a Park Owner should or should not do, it does not afford much individual protection to the Residential Caravan Owner if things unfortunately go wrong.  A growing concern is the fact that in many cases a Residential Caravan does not automatically transfer to next of kin upon the death of the owner, alarmingly it is reported that some ownerships are not allowed to be put into joint ownership, thereby giving an unscrupulous Park Owner an advantage over the surviving partner, in any event assignment to another member of the family is sometimes subject to a minimum age of 45, which again can give an unscrupulous Park Owner a financial advantage

So are all Park Owners this bad?  Consider this, the situation appears to have got so bad that two seperate parliamentry groups are attempting to get new legislation passed to protect the Residential Caravan Owner.  Firstly in Northern Ireland John McCallister MLA, Deputy Leader of the Ulster Union Party has spent a considerable amount of time producing what is known as the McCallister Bill, which is a private members bill, which is due to be passed any time now, the Bill has received widespread cross party support.  Here on the mainland a Parliamentry Adjourment debate is taken place, led by Annette Brooks M.P. and again receiving wide spread cross party support, and again this is due to be passed any time now.  What has motivated these Bills?  It would appear that most M.P.s who have a Park Home facilities within their own constituencies has received numerous complaints, and this is not of late, it fact it spans three decades.  Both Bills aim to acheive a fairer system for Residential Caravan Owners and Static Caravan Holiday Owners.  Particular attention is being paid towards the "Written Agreement" that already exists under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, the blocking of sales and the unprecedented vetting of prospective purchasers, and when things go wrong a quicker and usually free access to justice by way of independant tribunal, so Residential Owners do not have the massive expense and financial imbalance through the court system, which is another tool currently used by the unscrupulous Park Owner.  The setting up of Residential Caravan Owners Associations will also be made easier, in fact the Goverment and local authority enforcement agencies such as the OFT and Trading Standards are to encourage these associations to develop.  Not good news for the Park Owner, as usually these are discouraged at park level as it gives Residential Caravan Owners a say in how the park is run, also if there is more than 51% membership of the association then that association has a right to be involved in the setting of annual fees. Another hope from these two bills is that the Office of Fair Trading Guidelines covering Static Holiday Caravan Sites will be turned into actual legislation, which will help to clarify what is sometimes seen as ambiguous wording.

To be Continued ...............