Hurley park home owners urge Government to back campaign to scrap 'unfair' commission charge

Park home owners in Hurley are urging the Government to back a national campaign which calls for an ‘unfair’ commission charge to be scrapped when they sell their homes.

Under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, when a resident sells their park home, the owner of the site is entitled to a commission of up to 10 per cent of the sale price of that home.

Campaigners say they are unclear about what this money is spent on and fear the impact it has upon residents.

The Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign (PHOJC) has been fighting for several years to have the ‘unfair’ commission charge removed.

Josephine Payge, 75, has lived at the Frogmill Spinney residential park within Hurley Riverside Park for around eight years and her neighbour Charles Brooks, 78, has been a resident for 17 years.

The pair became involved with PHOJC in recent years and share worries over the impact of the charge, particularly on older people, who make up a large part of the demographic of park homes across the country.

Charles said the 10 per cent charge ‘can make a massive difference’ and gives ‘a lot of people, a lot of worry and concern’.

He told the Advertiser: “If I purchased a property for say £200,000, and I maintain it and update it, and I then go and sell it for £300,000, I have to pay 10 per cent of the £300,000, not 10 per cent of the £200,000.

“So, every penny we spend maintaining, updating – costs me an extra 10 per cent.”

Josephine added that she has researched what the charge goes towards but has yet to find a clear answer.

She said: “When I’ve done a bit of research, like on the Government website, there’s no reason that is given for charging the commission.”

“They say something like it goes towards repairing the park, but that’s why we pay something called a pitch fee.”

Pitch fees are paid for the upkeep and maintenance of park home sites.

“I personally don’t think it should be there,” she added.

Last month, PHOJC campaigners attended Downing Street, accompanied by Maidenhead MP Josh Reynolds, Josh MacAlister MP and Dr Ben Spencer MP, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Park Homes (APPG), to deliver a petition outlining reasons why the charge should be scrapped.

Following this, an event was held in Parliament which saw about 40 park home owners from across the country attend to share their experiences regarding the charge.

Speaking to the Advertiser about the national campaign, Josh Reynolds MP, vice chair of the APPG, described the commission charge as ‘unfair and illogical’.

He added: “There are a number of issues with park homes in general.

“The 10 per cent is one of these key problems and the 10 per cent sale fee traps park home owners in the park home system or in their existing park home.”

Campaigners are yet to receive a response on the petition, Mr Reynolds revealed.

A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise concerns raised by park home residents about the commission fee paid on the sale of homes, which is why we are reviewing this issue and will set out further details in due course.”