Kirsty welcomes breakthrough for Park Home Owners (Kirsty Williams AM )

Cymraeg
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Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

Kirsty welcomes breakthrough for Park Home Owners

October 21, 2009 12:00 AM

Kirsty Williams AM for Brecon and Radnorshire has called upon the Minister to strengthen legislation to protect and empower park home residents.

Along with Roger Williams MP Kirsty has for years been fighting for the rights of Powys park home residents, calling for fairer ownership rights, greater control over sales and improved safeguards against harassment along with provisions for proper enforcement of these laws.

Kirsty Williams said: "To own a football team the manager and owner must prove that they are a 'fit and proper person', as must landlords. It is unbelievable therefore that park home owners do not have to pass this test; particularly when they are often responsible for elderly and retired people who have put their life-savings into moving to a 'rural idyl' such as Powys.

"It is very positive news that the Government has voted in favour of the Welsh Lib Dem amendment calling for the Welsh Government to find ways of ensuring that site owners meet 'fit and proper person' criteria. I will be pushing the Minister to put this support into action."

Kirsty has joined with Park Home residents in calling for a tribunal mechanism for dealing with disputes between home owner and site owners without going to the courts.

Kirsty continued: "I am delighted that the Minister has announced a Residential Properties Tribunal, which will move disputes from the law courts, making resolution cheaper and simpler. But there is still a lot of work to be done. The implied terms introduced last year give residents greater rights in theory but there have been many issues around enforcement; with residents being refused site of utility bills despite this being a requirement.

"Residents are all too often paying unfairly high levels of council tax as the fact that they do not own the land and that park homes depreciate over time unlike bricks and mortar is not taken into account. I am delighted that the Minister has agreed to raise the issue of council tax with the Minister for local government.

"Our park Home owners deserve the same protection as other home owners and the Welsh Government must achieve this."