'Park homes'- why haven't they become The Answer to so much housing issues?

[Miljah]

I mean, seriously, at exhibitions, I've seen some really nice effectively 'mobile homes'. I assume there's a legal definition?

Why aren't there far more, well built, properly insulated, well sited?

Is it because of park home estate owners and weird laws that allow them to hike land rental by 1000% overnight, that sort of thing?

Surely more properly built, properly regulated mobile homes without what amounts to leasehold tenancies would be a good idea?

Don't know why I'm thinking about it tonight!

Because in most parts of the U.K. where there is an affordable housing shortage (I.e. where they are jobs, schools, etc) the issue is that you need affordable land to put these homes on. A “park home” is not really a solution.

I've been on holiday in many a mobile home. I really would not want to live in one! No matter how luxurious.

I might be wrong but I suspect you couldn’t get a mortgage on one so chances are they will end up as rental and not really help people onto the property ladder.

I know someone who lives in one. She is very happy there, it suits her to keep her living costs low and she enjoys the community feel' that she gets from being on a site with lots of others.
DH and I have stayed there with the kids a few times to house sit for her and we've often commented that it's great low cost housing.

Like, right now we are fortunate enough to live in a decent 3 bedroom house, and I wouldn't swap. But if I was stuck in a high rise flat or a tiny bedsit with no hope of getting out, as several of my family members have been, then the mobile home would be a much better option.

Yes there is the issue of not being able to get a mortgage on them. If you saved enough to buy one outright you'd have more than enough for a deposit on a real house round here. So I suppose that's off-putting.

The woman I know who lives in one bought it post-divorce, with her half of the proceeds of the house she and her husband had owned.

I looked onto living in one and all the ones around here seemed to have a rule that you can only live there 10/11 months out of the year.

You don’t own the land. So you can be moved at any time. Not really very secure. And very poor quality.

But people should be able to get a mortgage on one!

I put my cards on the table, I am a fierce critic of buy to let etc. So me recommending the yet further 'next tier' down the ladder of ownership and security doesn't sit well with me.

But if laws, actual laws, protected park home owners, given that the government aren't about to reclaim sold council houses- might this not be a way forwards?

You can't get a mortgage for them. There aren't that many of them. They're not in cities or places accessible to where most people work. The site charges can be high and are not eligible for housing benefit. And many of them have restrictions that prevent you legally living in them full time.

The reason you can't get a mortgage on them is that they don't hold their value like proper homes do. They're not built to last 50+ years. So not safe security on a long term loan

They don't need to be poor quality! Several we wandered around at the Motorhome show at the NEC last year were lovely, all eco spec'ed, nicely laid out, real quality.

The government could change the laws at any time regarding occupancy periods, leaseholds, rights.

Because it would create a massive social divide in this country, swathes of land covered in what is basically temporary housing, social and low cost housing is mixed these days I can’t see government policy encouraging people to live in glorified caravans.

The cost of constructing a house is not the obstacle when it comes to housing problems, it is the cost and availability (related obviously) of land in places where the homes are needed.

But they'd hold more value if a) they were legally required to be properly built; b) they couldn't be forced off at the whim of the wide boy who owned the site- tho- why do they have to be on leased land? Not owned land?

I am musing outside the box.

Of course, the biggie is NIMBY'ism. Who'd want a sea of 'nasty' park homes blighting their outlook if their own buy to let stood vacant?....

Betty with respect create a massive social divide?.....

I think they could be a solution but we would need to regulate the park owners more. They can sell someone a park home for many tens of thousands, and then decide they don't want them living in the park and ask them to move on. It is very expensive to move them and to get another park to take one that they made no profit on when it was purchased. The park owners can also increase the annual park fees by whatever they want to at any time.

You can only live in them 10/11 months of the year on most sites.
Many sites will not let there be vans over a certain age on the site so therefore you lose value and have a really poor resell value.
It is almost impossible to do any adaptations that may be needed for any type of disability/ mobility issue.

But the existing ones are on private land. Are you expecting those to be compulsory purchased? These are businesses. Plus they are usually not near schools etc. All the ones here are holiday parks.
And they are mobile by definition - meaning they are not permanent. And limited in space. And as mentioned where would you put these new villages of mobile homes? The green belt? With associate infrastructure, schools, shops services? Land is a major issue with providing affordable homes.
And what’s wrong with but to let? Not everyone wants to or can afford to own (students, workers from abroad for limited contracts, people who don’t want to be tied down...).

But because they are markedly different to real houses the communities that lived in them would be ghettoised. As another said it would be a marked divide with the less well paid, single mothers and people with disabilities would end up living in these 'park homes' and the wealthy being able to snap up more real houses as buy to let property to rent to the middle tiers. It's a nice idea but it wouldn't work. Where would they be built in London, Birmingham, Manchester? Developers can make more money selling similarly pokey 'luxury flats' on the same land. Bungalows are not cost effective where land is at a premium, and that is where we need affordable housing.

Of course laws can be changed but that's ignoring the fact that the obstacle is the cost/availability of land in places where there are jobs and the cost of providing new roads and utilities in areas to cope with a permanent population.

They would be land hungry (all single storey, no flats!) so unlikely to be placed near existing schools/doctors surgeries etc.

There are plenty of homes in the country standing empty, I think a more productive to target this through unoccupancy tax and compulsory purchase where homes are simply not occupied.

I have one as a holiday home closed for 2 months of the year therefore your unable to live here full time though some people on the park do and go on holiday/to a family members for the time they’re unable to be on site

There are a few around here they cost about £130 k and are in the grounds if the golf club. Tend to be lived in by those that are only in England for half of the year.

It's been done before https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PrefabsinntheUniteddKingdom

Main issue was that a temporary solution became long term housing as the shortage wasn't resolved quickly.

I think some people are getting confused with park homes and caravans.
My father in law died recently, he lived in a park home on a beautiful peaceful site in our city for approx 10 years.
He paid cash for it, the site is for the over 50's. He pays the park owner a small amount (£90) of ground rent every month.
It has been left to DH in the will. We aren't quite old enough to live there and the park contract forbids us renting it so we are selling it, I'm gutted, would genuinely love to live in it.

You can only live in them 10/11 months of the year on most sites.

Not the ones I've seen.

They're nearly as expensive as some bungalows in places not a cheap option anymore and kitted out to a high spec. Way too close to your neighbours though!