Gosport mobile home residents kick up about 10 per cent charge when selling up

Residents in Stokes Bay mobile home park have challenged Gosport Borough Council over the commission and high pitch fees.

Raymond Clark has lived in Stokes Bay park for more than 30 years, and said the council does not invest anything into the site.

‘My pitch fee and council tax is £300 a month currently - so far this year with home sales they’ve made about £100,000,’ he said.

‘They take 10 per cent out of the darn thing, where else in the country do they do this? Council houses? Privates?

‘That 10 per cent is supposed to be reinvested in the park, they’re not, we don’t get anything from them at all so it’s money for old rope.’

A recent decision by Portsmouth City Council to reintroduce the fee to its sites led to a protest in Guildhall Square by mobile home owners.

A House of Commons library research briefing states the commission fee can be generally justified as a combination of ‘the value of the mobile home and the value of the site on which it is placed’.

It later states that if the commission fee was reduced or abolished, the site owners could increase pitch fees to make up the difference.

A council spokesperson said: ‘In common with other councils who own mobile home parks, Gosport Borough Council is entitled to claim up to 10 per cent commission on the sale of homes on Stokes Bay Home Park.

‘The income from sales, fees and council tax cover the cost of running the site and providing ongoing repair and maintenance services for the mobile homeowners, as well as enabling us to provide the local community safety, leisure, transport and environmental services that everyone benefits from.’