§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will take steps to regulate agreements between site owners and caravan owners in so far as they relate to restrictions upon the rights of caravan owners to dispose of their caravans;
(2) if he will take steps to investigate and regulate the amount of rent charged by site owners to the owners of caravans for use of the site facilities;
(3) if he will take steps to regulate the restrictions that exist in certain rental agreements prohibiting caravan owners from moving their caravans from one site to another without payment of moneys.
§ Sir George YoungThe Mobile Homes Act 1983, which came into force on 20 May 1983, provided substantial new protection for the owners of residential mobile homes and caravans. The Act gives mobile home residents the right to sell their homes on site, subject only to the rights of the site owner to a commission on the sale—up to a maximum of 10 per cent.—and to approve the purchaser of the home, that approval not to be unreasonably withheld.
The Act also requires site owners to provide residents with written statements setting out the terms of their agreements. If residents are unhappy with the terms concerning pitch rents or restrictions on the siting of their mobile homes, they can challenge those terms before a court or arbitrator. The court, or arbitrator, must then make such provision as they consider just and equitable.
A free booklet explaining the 1983 Act and other legislation affecting mobile homes, "Mobile Homes", No. 16 in the housing booklet series is available from my Department, council offices and housing aid centres.