Mobile home owners rights

lagel

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I have a mobile home in kerry but over the last few years the landlord has put the rent up extraordinarily high. I know that a landowner of mobile home parks can charge exactly what they like (he says this year he has to pay VAT yet he wants only cash & refuses to give receipts) and of course everyone also has to pay key money. By the way there are NO facilities.
This year there's a new rule! People can only sell their mobile homes THROUGH him and he insists he takes 10,000 commission or whatever you want to call it. In other words the people who sold this summer - one sold at 12,000 only got 2,000 for their mobile home - he retained the balance. IF people sell without involving him he says he will have the new owners off the site immediately.
IS THIS LEGAL????

I know mobile home owners have no rights but surely this is wrong.
 
People can only sell their mobile homes THROUGH him and he insists he takes 10,000 commission or whatever you want to call it.

This is a standard agreement in most caravan parks that I know- although the commission does vary- I think yours is probably on the high side.

IF people sell without involving him he says he will have the new owners off the site immediately.
IS THIS LEGAL????

You are being given a licence by the owner to have your caravan on this site- it is personal to you and can be revoked if the rules are not adhered to. As I understand it therefore he is perfectly within his rights to refuse to allow any other new owner access or a 'mooring'.

By the way there are NO facilities

Why do you use this park- why not go to one with facilities?

he wants only cash & refuses to give receipts

This is a seperate issue- if you suspect tax evasion then you could report him- but the fact that he will not give a receipt is not proof in itself that he is not declaring and paying his VAT.
 
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thanks for responses... sounds like he hasn't a leg to stand on but in fact everyone I ask says he can charge what he likes & if I don't like it I can leave!
I agree re revenue commissioners but who of us would like to shop someone to them??? and we don't need facilities as we have water & shower as do most in the park. However its part of his planning permission that he should have them.

Kerry Co. Co don't seem to push such things.

Just to say the park is in the most beautiful place on the sea with mountains etc & I'd really hate to leave it unless I have to. If & when that happens I'll have a real problem re ethics. do I sell through him & not get even 20% of the value of the mobile home or sell on the QT & leave the new owners to face the prob - not a very nice thing to do - its a problem facing many in the park who are finding the rent a struggle nowadays.
 
I agree re revenue commissioners but who of us would like to shop someone to them???

Not sure why you have a difficulty with this, if he's evading tax then more fool you for facilitating that by not reporting it.

As for the other issues Vanilla seems to have the issues bang-on, in the end of the day if you can't effect changes in the park then move elsewhere. It sucks but that's life.
 
true it is life - at least I know I'm annoyed but not ready to leave with just 2 or 3 grand in my hand after all I've invested in my place so I suppose I'll give it another year (or two). I'd hoped someone had similar experiences & maybe found a loophole in the law or something to prevent giving so much in commission. In the end my guess is its only a matter of time before someone reports him to tax office as there's a lot of bad feeling in the park this past year
 
How much are your annual fees?

On the subject of selling your mobile. It will depreciate anyway, so unless its very new and expensive it won't be worth much in a few years anyway.

My parents have a mobile in Clare and its probably worth only a few thousand if somebody is buying it to relocate it, but on the site its on its worth alot more, maybe €10k.
 
paid 1300 rent last year - 1500 this year & told it'll be 1700 next year. I suppose its worth 10 or 12k as its old
 
I too have a mobile home in Co Waterford. and find myself in the same
position as lagel. I want to sell but will loose about 10,000 because the park owner has only offered me 2,000 for my mobile home. My cousin bought a mobile from the owner this year and had to give a cheque for 21,000 and 4,000 in hard cash to secure the deal!!!! I originally bought my mobile privately only 3 years ago, for 16.000 now the owner says the rules have changed and I must sell through him. To me this is extorsion and I'm sure there are alot more people in our position now the summer season is over. Can these cartel of park owners get away with this ????
 
Did you sign any agreement Mayfair? As far as I am aware it is normal that when you sell your mobile home that you would pay a 'penalty' to the owner of the park- but I'm not convinced that the owner would have the right to say you can only sell to them or through them unless you signed an agreement to that effect. Take legal advice.
 
Thanks Vanilla for your reply. Last year he sent out rules to be signed, but I did not sign, just paid my site rent and nothing was said. So no agreement signed. I have contacted a solicitor and will let you know. Would anyone else care to consult with the solicitor aswell, join forces as such??? I don't know of any other type of business which would be so blatant and try to get away with such practices. Imagine if Bertie was a Park owner !!!!!
 
glad to read of your experiences mayfair. It all seems so unfair. Our Kerry landlord nevers signs anything & we've not been requested to sign anything - all taken on trust. I bought from the mobile home owner (& paid the usual key money to site owner) b4 he started laying down rules & regulations but nothing in writing - he just calls to each mobile & tells us what the rent will be next year & that we cannot sell except through him. It seems we have no legal rights at all - totally at the mercy of a landlord who's attitude is ' if you don't like it then leave'. I'd love to get a group together - power in numbers!
 
Lagel, will be talking to solicitors next week. I hope the fact that we have'nt signed any agreement or contract will be beneficial to us. Will let you know how it goes. I don't mind the attitude 'if you don't like it then leave' but I can't take the attitude 'if you don't like, I'll rob you blind before you leave'
 
10k sounds like extortion. our sale fee is more like1500 euro on a nice site in kerry. fee going up every year though too. esb refuse etc...

on a separate note i am not impressed at being asked to pay a tv licence (full charge) for a tv i can only watch 5 months of the year.
 
Nothing in writing. Being forced to sell something worth 12k for 2k and being told to lump it if you don't like it. Total scam.

Personally I'd burn the mobile down where it stand rather that let the mobile home owner away with this. Let him look after the cleanup.



Murt
 
If the mobile is your property, what's to stop you hitching it up to your car and taking it to a different location to sell it.
 
If the mobile is your property, what's to stop you hitching it up to your car and taking it to a different location to sell it.


As Jister said earlier, the mobile home is worth say 10,000 because it is on site at a seaside park, with decking ect. You could buy a nicer and newer model mobile home cheaper but would'nt be allowed to bring it on site. You have to buy through agents or the park owner. Also a low loader type lorry is needed to move a mobile. The agents would do this for a fee of 2,000. Believe me Rainy Day if there was a simple way out for me I would take it.

Murt10 the fire option sounds good to me. Except I would'nt have the nerve and don't have a box of matches.
 
As Jister said earlier, the mobile home is worth say 10,000 because it is on site at a seaside park, with decking ect. You could buy a nicer and newer model mobile home cheaper but would'nt be allowed to bring it on site.
So the value is in the site, not just in the home itself? In that case, it doesn't seem that unreasonable that the site owner will want a piece of the action. What's the rough split of the 10k value between the cost of the mobile home and the value of the site location?
 
Looking for advice. I have a mobile in Bettystown. I have received a pittance of a reduction on site fees. Basically, fees reduced by €550 for 3 months closure. Do I and other mobile home owners have any rights to request a fairer price.? 6 months opening is €2550 it has increased every year for upgrades that no one has ever noticed but now the owners want €2000 for 3 months.
 
Do I and other mobile home owners have any rights to request a fairer price.?

What does your contract say?

I presume you don't live locally to it. so it's not as if you would have been able to make use of it while the business still has ongoing costs like insurance, electricity, maintenance, etc..
 
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