Who is responsible for repairs

Your pitch agreement includes a standard set of legal responsibilities for you and the site owner. These are called “implied terms” and they come from the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (as amended) in England, or the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 in Wales. They apply even if they are not written into your agreement.

The implied terms override any other clause in your pitch agreement or a site rule that appears to contradict them.

This means the site owner cannot usually make you responsible for repairs that the implied terms say are their responsibility. For example, a clause saying you must repair the concrete base your home stands on will not be valid (under the implied terms, this is the site owner’s responsibility).

Under the implied terms, you are responsible for:

• keeping your park home in a good state of repair
• maintaining the outside of your home
• keeping your pitch in a clean and tidy condition

This can often mean you are responsible for fences, sheds and other structures on your pitch.

Extra responsibilities

Your pitch agreement and the site rules often give you extra repair and maintenance responsibilities.

For example, they might say that you must:

• keep your garden tidy
• maintain fences or hedges on your pitch
• keep the pitch free from rubbish or stored items
• when storing fuel or combustible materials – use containers that meet a certain standard and keep them in a good state of repair
• maintain the outside of your park home and keep it in a good state of repair

Under the implied terms, the site owner is legally responsible for:

• repairing the base that your park home stands on
• keeping the parts of the site that are not your responsibility clean and tidy
• maintaining any gas, electricity, water, sewerage or other services they supply to your pitch or home

Licence conditions are there to help make sure the site is safe, accessible, properly serviced and suitable for residents to live on. They can cover things like roads, footpaths, drainage, parking and shared areas. They are based on the model standards for park home sites that all councils should consider when issuing a licence.

When checking who is responsible for a repair, look at the site licence conditions. They may give more detail about what the site owner is responsible for and the standards they are expected to meet. For example, repairs may be needed to meet licence conditions if the issue affects:

• residents’ safety
• access for residents or emergency vehicles
• drainage or sanitation
• essential services, such as water, gas or electricity

Find out more: site licences and conditions

You may have rights to get repairs done under the Consumer Rights Act for newly purchased park homes.

Find out more: repairs if you’ve bought a new or secondhand park home