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Keeping your home in good condition – your obligations

As a resident, you must repair your home when necessary so it stays in good condition. You must keep the outside of your home and pitch clean and tidy, including any fences or outbuildings on your pitch, like a shed.

Repairs and services – the park owner’s obligations

Park owners must keep areas of the park which the resident is not responsible for (eg common areas like recreation rooms) in good condition.

Park owners are responsible for repairing the area where your home sits (the ‘base’) if necessary. They must also maintain any services which they supply to your home or the pitch (for example, sewerage).

If the park owner wants to make park improvements

If the park owner plans to make improvements to the park, they must ask each resident. When the park owner asks you about improvements they plan to make, they must:

• give you at least 28 days notice in writing
• explain how it will change the park
• tell you if it will affect your pitch fee
• let you know how you can comment on the proposed improvements

If a majority of residents disagree with the proposed improvements in writing, the park owner can’t try to increase your pitch fee because of it. Read ‘Park homes – paying for the land you use’ to find out more about pitch fee reviews.

The park owner must ask your qualifying residents’ association about changes to operation or management, or any improvements to the park that may affect residents. Read ‘Park homes – setting up a qualifying residents’ association’ to find out more about what the park owner must tell your association.

• Park homes - paying for the land you use

• Park homes - setting up a qualifying residents' association

Conditions of the park and licensing

If the mobile home where you live is privately-owned (eg not run by the council), it must have a licence from the local authority. The park owner must display the licence where residents can see it. A licence will usually have certain conditions for:

• how many homes can be in the mobile home park
• landscaping – like planting trees
• fire precautions – for example having fire extinguishers available
• health and safety

The park owner must meet the conditions in the licence. If you have a complaint about the conditions in the mobile home park where you live, you should talk to the park owner first. Once you’ve talked to the park owner, if you still have a complaint, you should contact your local council.

• Contact your local council Opens new window

Charges for utilities for your park home

The amount you can be charged for gas and electricity is set by the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). The park owner can’t charge you more than the price Ofgem sets plus any ‘standing charges’. A standing charge is a set amount the utility company charges you to be connected to the gas and electricity network.

If you think you have been charged too much for gas or electricity, you can contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06. You can also find out more about gas and electricity charges on the Consumer Focus website.

The park owner or anyone else reselling water or sewerage services can only charge what the water company charges them plus a reasonable administration fee. The administration fee can be around £5 a year if you have a meter and £10 if you don’t. You can find out more about water resale from the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) website.

The prices charged for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are not regulated - the park owner (or anyone else) can decide what they want to charge for it.

• Energy help and advice - Consumer Focus Opens new window

• Information on the resale of water and sewerage services - Ofwat Opens new window

• Contact Consumer Direct Opens new window

More useful links

• Get advice and find a legal adviser - Community Legal Advice Opens new window

• Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau Opens new window

• Download 'Park homes factsheet' from Age UK (PDF, 98K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

• Independent Park Home Advisory Service Opens new window