Pitch fees are an amount that is paid to the site owner on a regular basis for the right to keep your park home / lodge on the site, as well as for maintenance of the common parts. The amount will depend upon the agreement that you have with the site owner.
Each year, the site owner may choose to review the pitch fee and on a residential site, the process is set down in law. With holiday sites, it will depend on the agreement that you have with the site owner. It is worth checking the documentation carefully to ensure that it is all in order and that you know what the next bill will be !
We are regularly involved in challenges to pitch fee increases and can advise on the best approach to take. Having dealt with First Tier Tribunal hearings, we can suggest what evidence needs to be provided and the likely prospects for success.
Before embarking on a challenge, we suggest that you get advice. We can offer a fixed fee consultation to help you. Not all challenges are successful and it is generally important to be able to show that there has been some deterioration in the site over the review period. There are other things that can be considered as well, but not factors such as ‘the fee is less elsewhere’ or ‘its just too much’.
With residential sites, the amount of change in England and Wales is now based on the Consumer Price Index. It is worth making sure that this is indeed used, rather than the Retail Price Index which was used in the past.