Park Homes

Guto Bebb Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Caroline Nokes]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and she is right. We must have legislation, and we must have it soon. During a conversation with Consumer Direct earlier today, it told me that it is making progress in taking on cases. As my hon. Friend said, the problem is not just anecdotal because there is now evidence. It is crucial that we have time to legislate so that these poor, vulnerable residents receive the action and outcome that they have sought for so many years.

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Park home residents are also dealt a harsh hand by park owners in their electricity supply. An electricity supply in my constituency breaches the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, but the problem is that compliance rests with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, whereas the safety issues rest with the health and safety boards. A further complication in the Welsh context is that other aspects of park homes legislation are devolved to the Welsh Assembly, making it difficult for residents to know who to go to with their complaints.

[Caroline Nokes]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. There is complexity in knowing who residents should go to with their complaints. There is no consistency throughout the United Kingdom, and that is what people are calling for.

My constituent, Tim Deacon, like many other park home residents, has been party to establishing a park home residents association. Such groups must meet several requirements to qualify as a residents association, the last of which is to obtain the park owner’s acknowledgement. Even when park home residents have completed all the required steps, park owners may refuse to acknowledge a residents association and thereby deprive the residents of the rights that becoming an association provides. A last resort is recourse to the county court, but many residents are scared or do not have the will, the energy or the know-how to do that.

In an era of localism, when the Government are seeking to disseminate power downwards, I hope that they will look favourably on the growth of residents associations on park home sites. Such associations can seek to resolve issues locally without having to turn to the courts. However, the situation at the moment leaves too much power in park owners’ hands, limiting accountability and the community’s ability to exert sufficient pressure on their landlord.

Statistics published by the Park Home Owners Justice Campaign show that the majority of park home owners are in their 70s or older. It is clear that unscrupulous park owners are taking advantage of elderly and vulnerable people, many of whom in my constituency live on their own. I thought it would be interesting to see exactly how many of the 200-plus park homes in my constituency are occupied by single people, and it transpires that it is the vast majority of them. The electoral roll shows that 250 residents in 212 park homes are registered to vote. That clearly shows that those people are mainly not living as couples or families. Sadly, in many cases, they are living alone, and my argument is that that increases their vulnerability, and susceptibility to feeling intimidated by unscrupulous park owners. It is vital that the Government establish robust measures to protect residents because current legislation is clearly failing them.

I would be grateful to hear the Minister’s comments on how his Department is addressing the problem of sale blocking—a prime concern of park home residents in my constituency—and preventing unscrupulous park owners from wielding disproportionate power over this part of the property market. That would be unacceptable in an ordinary residential community. I would welcome steps being taken urgently to prevent overcharging for basic services such as electricity and water.

My hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) made a valid point about different parts of the electricity market having responsibility for safety, and it is truly terrifying that some park home residents may be receiving an electricity supply that is less safe than we would want. It is important for the establishment of residents associations to be made as simple as possible, and to ensure that they receive proper recognition. I welcome the Department’s consultation on this important issue, and hope that the timetable for action is suitably short. As I have said, many park home residents are elderly and feel that they have been waiting far too long.

I fully acknowledge that there are many honest and excellent park owners, and I emphasise that, as my hon. Friend said, those who are not acting responsibly are giving the others a bad name. It is wrong that all should be tarred with the same brush. But some people live in parks where that is not the situation and where an unscrupulous landlord seeks to exploit the vulnerability of park home residents, to take a percentage of the proceeds of any sale, or to block a sale. Those people deserve greater rights, and a future free from exploitation and abuse from dishonest landlords. I hope that the Minister will outline at least a partial timetable to assure us that any proposed legislation will be forthcoming as soon as possible, and that he will tell us what action the Government are taking. I know that they are taking action, but it is important to understand it clearly so that we can give our constituents some reassurance.