The Process of Buying a Residential Park Home

The procedures set out below must be followed whenever a second-hand residential park home is purchased on a park in England; the exact procedure to be followed will depend on whether the agreement being assigned is an “Existing Agreement” or a “New Agreement”.

Assignment of an “Existing Agreement”

If the occupation agreement for the park home you are looking to buy commenced before 26 May 2013 and has not been assigned (transferred) since 26 May 2013 it will be an “Existing Agreement”, and the following procedure will apply:

1. Once you have found a park home you want to buy, and have agreed a purchase price with the seller, the seller must provide you with copies of certain documents at least 28 days before the date when you intend to complete your purchase of the home, unless you have agreed to a shorter period being given. The documents which you should receive from your seller are as follows:

• a copy of the agreement/written statement;
• a copy of any previous assignment of the written statement;
• a copy of the Park Rules;
• written details of any charges payable in respect of electricity, gas, water, sewerage or other services supplied to the park home, including details of when these charges are payable and when they are next due for review;
• written details of any other charges relating to the home or the Park, including any charges for the use of a garage, parking space or outbuilding;
• a copy of any warranty for the home; and
• a copy of any structural survey of the home, the base or the pitch which the seller has had carried out by a surveyor in the previous 12 months.

If the seller is unable to provide any of the documents mentioned above, they should give you a written explanation as to why this is the case.

2. As well as the documents set out above, the seller must also provide the following information to you, again not less than 28 days before completion of the purchase, unless you have agreed to a shorter period being given:

• the proposed sale price of the park home;
• details of the commission (normally 10% of the sale price) payable to the Park owner on completion of the sale and purchase;
• details of the pitch fee, including when it is payable and when the annual review date is;
• details of any pitch fee arrears, and of any agreement which the seller may have reached with the Park owner for clearing the arrears;
• the council tax band for the park home;
• the name of the Park owner, and the address where any notices may be served on them;
• the name and address of the local authority which licenses the Park;
• the date when the agreement first started, and if the seller was not the original owner, the date when the agreement was assigned to the seller;
• an explanation of the assignment process and the effect of any Refusal Notice or Refusal Order on the prospective sale;
• a statement that the seller is the legal owner of the park home, that the home will be vacant upon completion, and that there are no outstanding loans relating to the home; and
• details of any legal proceedings relating to the home, the agreement or the Park which the seller is involved in, and which are ongoing at the time when the information is given to you.

All of this information must be provided in a “Buyer’s Information Form”. This form, and all of the other prescribed forms referred to in this Guide, can be downloaded free of charge here: https://www.gov.uk/park-homes-guidance.

3. Both you and the seller must complete a “Notice of Proposed Sale Form” and the seller must then send this form to the park owner at least 21 days before the proposed completion date.

4. Once the Park owner has received the Notice of Proposed Sale, if they wish to object to the proposed sale and assignment they must apply (within 21 days of receiving the Notice to the First Tier Property Tribunal for an Order to prevent the sale and assignment from going ahead (a “Refusal Order”). The park owner must also tell the seller that they have done this.

The Park owner can only object to the sale if you, or someone who is intending to live in the park home with you:

a. does not meet any minimum age limit on the Park;

b. wants to keep any types of animals which are not allowed on the Park;

c. wants to keep vehicles of a type which are not allowed on the Park; or

d. wants to keep more vehicles on the Park than are allowed.

If the Park Owner does not apply to the Tribunal within the 21-day period, then they are deemed to have accepted you and your purchase can go ahead.

5. Immediately before completion you and the seller will both need to complete and sign an “Assignment Form” to transfer the seller’s occupation agreement to you. This form will be exchanged between you and the seller at the point of completion of your purchase, and you and the seller will both need to keep a completed copy of the form. On completion you will need to pay the seller 90% of the agreed sale price, holding back the 10% statutory commission which is payable to the Park owner, which you must retain to pay later. You are responsible for paying the commission to the Park owner following completion.

6. Within 7 days of completing your purchase of the park home, you must complete and send to the Park owner a “Notice of Assignment” form, which must state:

a. your name, and the name(s) of anyone else who will live in the park home with you;

b. the address of the park home;

c. the date when the agreement was assigned (i.e. the completion date);

d. the sale price of the park home and the amount of commission payable to the Park owner; and

e. a forwarding address for the seller.

7. After receiving the Notice of Assignment the Park owner will provide you with the details of the bank account where they want the 10% commission to be paid – you must then pay the commission to the Park owner within 7 days of these details being provided.

8. If you fail to provide any of the required information you will not have complied with the legislation, which could lead to the assignment being unlawful and/or a civil claim being made against you by your seller and/or by the Park owner.

Assignment of a “New Agreement”

If the occupation agreement for the park home you are looking to buy commenced after 26 May 2013, or has been assigned since 26 May 2013, it will be a “New Agreement”.

To purchase a park home and take an assignment of a New Agreement you and your seller will need to follow all of the steps set out above except for steps 3 and 4, which only apply to Existing Agreements.

Contact our park homes experts today

For more information or discuss your matter please contact our residential parks solicitors today on 03456 381381 or email parks@ibblaw.co.uk.