How can we make the site owner obey his own rules?
We live on a park with a strict age policy of residents being 50 or over. The owner of the park does, however, have a park home on site with a partner and their children.
As clearly stated in the park rules, the owner’s family should not be resident on the site as they do not fulfil the criteria. By doing so they are preventing residents from ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their homes. It was never directly mentioned to residents when buying their home and one couple were actually told the family did not live there.
We are ruled with a ‘rod of iron’ and our every move is watched.
The owner’s partner leaves equipment scattered all over the site, although site rules state that this is not allowed. Is this something we simply have to put up with?
When purchasing our homes we were all told that there would be electric gates and a brick wall at the front of the park but these have not transpired and the entrance floods in heavy rain.
One resident is also still awaiting a block drive. The site owner has stated this will only be done when further homes are installed. Is the resident obliged to wait even longer or can the owner be forced to provide this?
Residents have reported sewage smells in their homes, which were present when they moved in, but the owner has done nothing. Does this constitute as a health hazard?
We feel absolutely powerless and the site owner and family are rude and aggresive. We have all paid a great deal of money for our homes and feel grossly misled by false promises. Can anything be done to alleviate our intolerable situation?
Do I have to sign the amended written agreement?
My park owner sent me a written statement plus a couple of documents with amendments to it. Are these documents legally binding and can I assign these to a new buyer?
For about a year my park owner has made it quite clear that I should sign his version. In the last letter I received from his solicitors they stated that they believe my written statement does not contain any of these updates.
I have tried many times to sell my property without success and of course I want any sale to go smoothly and quickly. Do I really have to make these changes?
What council tax banding should my home fall under?
Why do the majority of councils charge council tax band A for residential park homes across the country, and yet some others charge council tax B?
I am aware that although a residential park home is a chattel, council tax still has to be paid but I would have thought that they would all be banded at the same level – band A.
Is there a chance of changing a banding level? Is there a template letter or a way of wording a letter to be clear about the reasons for the change?
Can we live in our holiday home?
Would it be unlawful to purchase a holiday lodge with a 10 month licence and, in compliance with the terms of the licence, occupy it for only the stipulated term?
We are considering buying a superb lodge manufacturered to BS 3632 as our main residence and living elsewhere for the six week closure period.
We will, of course, pay council tax and the site owners have guaranteed that the contract they draw up will offer the same legal safeguards as one drawn up in accordance with the Mobile Homes Act 1983. The show lodges we have seen are certainly of good quality construction. It’s just the legal position vis-a-vis the site licence we’re concerned about.
Should we pay for sewage maintenance?
Should we pay for sewage maintenance? Our park owner has been charging us, since late 2007, £13 a quarter for sewage maintenance as beside the pipe-work we have a pump which pumps the sewage from the park up to the main sewer.
Some residents, who were new to the park have just paid this extra fee, without question but other residents have refused to pay as there was no negotiation between the owner and the resident’s and also they consider that this is already paid in the pitch fee.
Can the park owner insure the pump against breakdown? And if so, why should every household on the park pay this amount each year?
How can I make the park owner carry out repairs?
Our park owner promised to have both the main road and the rear footpath repaired to a safe standard.
Despite our patience, nothing has transpired and consequently one of the senior residents tripped and badly hurt an ankle.
I felt that the rear path and main road was a health and safety issue and contacted our area’s health and safety officer who agreed.
However, six months passed and still nothing had been resolved, so I wrote a strong letter to the chief health and safety officer.
A letter was then sent to the park’s management giving them two weeks to begin maintenance.
The park’s sales manager then contacted me to confirm this was the case and I used this opportunity to explain that alongside this, one of the residents had complained about a bad smell of sewage.
When I lifted the drain I saw that raw sewage had blocked up the pipe and I used a high jet hose to clear it.
The sales manager said that one of the park’s maintenance team was a plumber and that he would check it out when they came to fix the roads.
When the team arrived, I showed them the pipe and they said they believed it was fractured but without an order number from the park management he would not be able to repair it.
When I called the sales manager he told me it was not a health and safety issue and hung up the phone.
I have since received a message from the park’s management team saying they believe I broke the sewage pipe in retaliation for the previous road issues.
Do we need to insure our residents’ association against public liability?
Do we need to insure our residents’ association against public liability? We have formed an association with a legal constitution and committee and at this stage everything is running OK. How do we stand with regards to insurance? Our site is owned by the local council and the council has asked us to look into insuring ourselves against public liability as they are not entirely happy with the present situation.
Do we need to insure our residents’ association against public liability?
Do we need to insure our residents’ association against public liability? We have formed an association with a legal constitution and committee and at this stage everything is running OK. How do we stand with regards to insurance? Our site is owned by the local council and the council has asked us to look into insuring ourselves against public liability as
Are we legally liable for sewage costs?
Our park owners demand that existing residents pay the costs of the sites sewage plant, these include legal and servicing costs plus electricity.
While the residents’ association feels that we should pay these ‘running’ costs my query is:‘Are we legally liable or responsible for such costs?’
Incidentally, the residents’ association and its members have refused to pay for the plant and its construction costs.
Finally, are residents allowed to erect a ‘for sale’ notice in their gardens?
How do we find out how our water bill is calculated?
How do we find out how our water bill is calculated? Our water is supplied via a single meter and the bill is then divided between the residents (charge of one person to single occupancy homes and two persons for double occupancy). Despite repeated requests, we do not get a copy of the bill to check our charges against, nor do we get our bills at regular quarterly presentation. It is sometimes three, four or even six months.
However the cost has escalated to the point where we contacted the water board to query for leaks and charges. We were told the average local domestic charging for our area and paid this amount. The water company has also inspected for leaks and the possibility of installing water meters, although that will depend on the park owners.
We then received a letter from the park owner stating that the outstanding amount be paid within 21 days plus interest for any extension on this time. This deficit is caused by the difference in what he was billing on the initial disputed bills and what the water board said the average was for this area.
On checking the bills we then saw that he had actually been credited for leak adjustment, which was not passed on to us.
The second query is on his demand for interest on what he claims is the outstanding amount.
Could this - because it is a disputed amount without any attempt on his part to resolve - be considered as him making interest on the water charging, which we understand to be illegal?
