Unlike ‘bricks and mortar’ properties, a mobile park home is normally a self-contained house that can be moved in either one or two sections. There have been a number of cases in the courts that have helped to refine the definition and looked intricacies such as whether wheels have to be attached, whether they can be extended and how large they can be.
In law, they are referred to as a ‘caravan’, but the style of modern homes is a long way beyond the stereotypical view and most park homes are professionally made with the intention of standing for many years. Some of the more recent legislation now refers to them as ‘mobile homes’.
The criteria set out in the legislation is that it must be :
“composed of not more than two sections separately constructed and designed to be assembled on a site by means of bolts, clamps or other devices“
and must be “when assembled, physically capable of being moved by road from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer)“.
The size restrictions are that it must be no more than 20m long and 6.8m wide, with a ceiling no more than 3.05m from the floor.
There is a fundamental difference when you buy a mobile park home, in that most are sold without any ownership of the land on which they are sited. This is very important, as it is not generally possible to record an entry with the Land Registry to prove the right of occupation.
As part of the agreement to be on the land, residential park homes are issued with an agreement and an important part of that is the “Written Statement”, which sets out the rights that you have as the occupier of the home and can usually be passed on (“assigned”) to another person. Sometimes this assignment can be done without telling the park owner in advance.
Many sites also have Park Rules and these supplement the Written Statement. By law, the Council for the area must publish the park rules that are in force on their website, so it is easy to check what you are agreeing to with these.
Before you buy a mobile / park home, it is sensible to know exactly what the agreement says. We strongly recommend that you do not pay any deposit until you know exactly what you are buying, tempting though it might be to pay something to ensure that the home is not sold to someone else.
What is a ‘written statement’ ?
This document is a fundamental part of showing that you have the right to keep your park home on the site and is in some ways similar to a tenancy agreement. It is just one part of the agreement between you and the site owner, which should explain where your plot is, how big it is and other information such as what services are included in the pitch fee. Along with the Park Rules, the agreement and written statement govern your relationship with the park owner.
If you are buying a home, it is important to look carefully at the terms of the Statement – some of which are set by law and some of which are set by the park owner. You can read about what terms are set by law on the “.gov” website. When we deal with a purchase, we review this document and explain to you as needed what some of the terms mean.