A report by watchdog Consumer Focus Wales has highlighted the suffering of the thousands of people who live permanently in mobile homes, reports the BBC.
The report, entitled 'Park Life' uncovers the unscrupulous, intimidating and sometimes criminal behaviour of some site landlords, and calls for legal reform from the Welsh Assembly.
There are 3,500 mobile homes in Wales, which house around 5,000 citizens on caravan sites. There are 92 such sites in the country, with concentrations in Powys, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.
The survey has found that 62% of those who responded experienced problems with the running and management of the site over a five-year period, and 29% had problems with safety, security or maintenance.
Mobile homes are popular accommodation choices amongst the elderly, who are often looking to downsize their property and free up equity to live off in their retirement. The homes seem to offer a cheap accommodation solution and from the outside at least appear to be peaceful and attractive places to spend retirement years.
However, the realities the report uncovers include 'sale blocking' by site owners, effectively allowing landlords to veto a sale for their own financial gain. In some cases mobile-home owners reported hassle and even intimidation when they attempted to sell their property to leave.
Now the Welsh Assembly appears set to legislate on the matter with a private members' bill, led by Assembly Member Peter Black, set to make its way through the legislature later this month. The bill aims to reform civil legislation relating to the management of mobile home parks.
The new legislation aims to remove the site owner's veto on sales on park home sites and looks to implement a licensing and inspection program to help ensure that park home sites are better managed. The law change will also set up a mechanism for enforcement, allowing the authorities to take action if site owners are non-compliant.
Rhys Evans is a senior director of Consumer Focus Wales, the group which produced the report.
"Any new enforcement regime needs to be dynamic, robust and have the legal powers to punish unscrupulous site operators, protect residents and provide a greater incentive to raise the standards of the industry," he told the BBC.
Source:
Mobile home residents 'out of pocket', says a watchdog (BBC News)
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