Park home site improvements

The site owner can only recover improvement costs through your pitch fee if:

• the improvement genuinely benefits residents
• the site owner follows the consultation process
• the majority of residents do not object (during the consultation process)

If the majority of residents do object, the site owner must get permission from the tribunal before they can consider including any increase at your next pitch fee review.

Site improvements are different from repairs or maintenance work.

Repair examples

• Repairing a damaged road
• Fixing damaged or faulty street lighting
• Unblocking or repairing drains or sewers
• Replacing rotten or damaged fencing

Improvement examples

• Re-tarmacking or upgrading roads
• Installing new or improved street lighting or electric charging points
• Improving drainage or flood protection
• Renovating shared facilities like a laundry room

You should not be charged for work that does not benefit residents. This is one of the legal rights (implied terms) of all park home residents.

It can be difficult to identify work that falls into this category, but examples might include:

• expanding the site or adding new pitches
• new roads or upgrading roads that would only benefit new pitches
• work needed because the owner is failing to meet the conditions of their site licence
• landscaping or works to areas that residents cannot access or use

The site owner must follow these consultation steps if they want to include the costs of improvements at your next pitch fee review.

Step 1: you’re told about the improvement

The site owner must send a written notice to you and any qualifying residents’ association.

The notice can be displayed on site as well, but not instead of sending it to you.

There is no standard format for the notice, but it must clearly explain:

• what the improvement is
• whether you will be expected to pay for the work through your pitch fee
• how much you might be expected to pay (it will be an estimate)
• how residents will benefit from the improvements in the short and long term

Step 2: you send your response

You must be given at least 28 days to respond.

The notice should explain when, where and how to send your response.

You can agree, object or suggest alternatives.

Step 3: the site owner’s response

The site owner must take residents’ comments into account before carrying out the improvement.

They do not have to respond to the consultation but it’s good practice if they:

• summarise the consultation comments they received
• confirm their decision and reasons
• confirm what changes, if any, have been made following the consultation
• confirm if the majority of residents objected

Make it clear

Include a clear, simple statement saying you object to the improvements or having the costs charged to the pitch fee.

Explain why

Explain your reasons, for example, why you believe:

• the work is a repair rather than an improvement
• the improvement does not benefit residents
• the site owner has not clearly explained why the work is an improvement
• the improvement makes sense, but the costs are not justified

Put your objections in writing

Always put your objections in writing and send it as directed by the consultation notice (for example, it may say email responses are not accepted).

Verbal comments might not carry any weight if the matter goes to tribunal. For example, opinions expressed at a meeting you’re invited to by the site owner.

Use your residents’ association

A residents’ association can help you respond, but only a qualifying residents’ association has the legal right to be formally included in the consultation and send a collective response.

Using your association can also help show or prove how the majority of residents responded.

If the majority of residents object, the work can go ahead but the site owner must get permission from the tribunal if they want to include the costs in the next pitch fee review.

How majorities are worked out

It’s usually one response per park home. If two people living in the same home respond, then the response of the person named first on the pitch agreement is used. The majority is based on the total number of residential park homes, not the number that respond.

If the majority of residents have objected, the site owner must get permission from a tribunal in order to include the improvement costs in the next pitch fee review.

The site owner will need to show the tribunal that:

• the improvement benefits residents
• they followed the consultation process
• even though a majority of residents objected, the costs should be included in the pitch fee

They must use:

• tribunal form in England: PH10
• tribunal form in Wales: MH17

You will be sent a copy of their completed form and asked to submit information to the tribunal by a deadline. There is no tribunal fee for doing this.

Your submission to the tribunal should explain and prove why the improvement costs should not be included in the pitch fee. For example:

• the consultation was not done properly
• the work will not benefit residents
• the work is a repair rather than an improvement

How long it can take

As part of the tribunal process, you may be given a timeframe for when the tribunal will make its decision.

Find out more: how property tribunals work

The outcome from the tribunal

Examples of tribunal outcomes include:

• improvement costs can be taken into account at the next pitch fee review
• some, but not all, of the costs can be taken into account
• the improvements do not benefit residents and cannot be charged to residents
• the consultation process was not followed properly and must be carried out again