Mobile Homes Act 1975 (Hansard, 17 February 1976)

§ Mr. Armstrong

The Mobile Homes Act 1975 was designed to provide residents with a greater degree of security and to regulate the nature of contracts between site owners and residents. Under the Act, it was the duty of mobile home site owners to offer, by 31st December last year, to enter into an agreement with each of their existing residents in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Each resident has three months from the date of the offer in which to decide whether to accept the agreement. Residents who are dissatisfied with any of the terms and conditions of the agreement offered to them have the right to apply to the county court within the three-month period for a determination of the matter in dispute.

My Department is currently monitoring the working of the Act, in the light of reports that some site owners are attempting to frustrate the purposes of the Act by imposing unreasonable conditions on the acceptance of agreements. This work includes an analysis of both the information received in correspondence and from representations, and of actions in the courts. I hope shortly to meet representatives of the Mobile Home Residents Association to discuss the particular problems raised by their members. We are also considering whether to use the power in Section 6 of the Act to prescribe maximum rates of discount and commission.

All the information we receive will be fed into the Mobile Homes Review which is dealing with the wider aspects of mobile home living. The Review is due to report later this year and it will be making recommendations for any action—legislative or otherwise—which is considered necessary to deal with outstanding problems. If, as a result of the Review's report, it appears that the Mobile Homes Act is not providing sufficient protection for residents, the Government will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to remedy their position.