Jan 14
- 15:05
- Posted by Kathleen Retourne
- comments (3)
Should park home residents pay council tax?
Park Home & Holiday Caravan editor, Alex Melvin, discusses Council tax for residents
Council tax charges are a bone of contention for thousands of park home residents up and down the country. While budgeting for rising food and fuel bills, many of the nation's poorest and most vulnerable struggle to cope with the equally onerous demands of this tax.
Thankfully, monthly ground rents have recently come down for some park home residents as the Retail Prices Index has gone negative. However, this is still another sizeable bill that needs to be paid.
I'm not suggesting that the park home community should be granted immunity from council tax - after all, everybody should pay their rightful share for the use of public services. But surely there must be a better way than the current system, which strikes me as grossly unfair?
After all, the majority of those who buy park homes do so with the intention of saving money for their retirement. And why not after a lifetime of paying their dues to society?
One of the correspondents to this month's Legal Help pages argues for a consistent council tax banding for all homes protected by the Mobile Homes Act (1983). The letter writer proposes classifying all park homes under the lowest banding - band A. Our legal expert Graham Watts also believes that the Government could do more for park home owners in this area.
I agree: there certainly needs to be more of a debate around this important issue. Personally, I think the powers-that-be should introduce a new and separate band for park home residents that's lower than the existing band A. Setting up a separate ‘band zero' would take away the uncertainty many of our community currently feel and show that the Government actually cares.
In the run up to a general election, the leading political parties will doubtless feel they have bigger priorities than a minority community like ours. But remember - while the expenses-laden political classes are still chasing your vote, you have the power to affect their decisions.
If you have any thoughts on the above, feel free to share them with me at alex_melvin@ipcmedia.com
Reader comments
Add your commentsJanuary 22 20:05
r.sibley
i agree that there should be a special council tax band for park home living. I live on a residential park home and we have very nice parkowners who are honest and fair. We pay £105 (Band A) per month but we only get our dustbins emptied. The parkowners are responsible for street lighting, sewerage repairs, road surfaces even road sweeping. People living out of the park get all these facilities as a matter of course, which is in with the council tax. WHY are we treated differently? The local councils take our council tax money and then state that the site owner is responsible for all the above because it is private land. I think it would be fair to have a lower band for residential park homes as the local councils do not look after the parks even though they also dictate the site licence but NOTHING to upkeep the park. We expect to pay towards police, libraries etc. etc. etc. but if we dont get the same treatment as those outside of the park then they should be fair and reduce our council tax.
February 08 13:25
K BUCKLEY
I am very interested in buying a park home in the near future but I believe there are quite a lot of pitfalls to be aware of. Your readers' letters of complaints highlight some of these, but while that is all well and good I think if the parks concerned were named and shamed prospective residents could avoid them like the plague. It`s no good finding out after you have parted with your hard-earned cash! But I suppose there are legal issues around this.
February 27 15:27
P Jobling
I agree with R Sibley 22nd January. I too live on a well-run site and the owners and managers go to a lot of trouble to keep it clean and tidy and maintain the street lighting. The council does not have to sweep the roads, clear the roads of snow nor trim trees and hedges; they only have to collect the refuse and re-cycling. A 50% reduction, or even 30% would be much appreciated and be seen to be fair. As the number or park home residents in the country is increasing, the councils are doing very well out of us!