Park-home Living – A Lifestyle Choice for Retirement?
A new piece of research highlighted in the August edition of Ageing and Society considers why a growing number of older people are choosing park-home living. The research, a study of 40 park-home residents, by Mark Bevan of the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York, notes that around 160,000 people live in park-homes and that the majority of these are older people.
Park-homes are essentially mobile homes occupied as people’s residences (rather than as holiday homes) (1) (2). Bevan points out that park-homes have a unique status in English property law. On the one hand they count as dwellings, but on the other they are treated as chattels. As a result, park-homes are excluded from building regulations that apply to permanent dwellings.
Bevan finds that most of his respondents report very positive experiences of park-home living but notes that there are some tensions between residents and conflicts with owners. Bevan argues that the park-home sector has long provided a low cost housing option for all ages but over the past five or ten years has grown into more of a lifestyle chose for older people.
Bevan highlights two main findings as to why people choose park homes. A first group of interviewees explain their decision in the context of affordability. There are only two specialist providers offering mortgages for park homes so most purchasers buy in cash after selling bricks and mortar. Other housing options were simply too expensive for this group and the park home lifestyle was perceived as a better alternative to renting. Most of these individuals and families moved relatively short distances to the park home.
The second group chose park homes as a retirement lifestyle option. The “empty nest” alongside resources to enjoy a comfortable life led to these to make a positive choice. The feeling expressed was that this choice would allow sufficient money for holidays and allow the individual to follow leisure pursuits. This group travelled further (than the first) from their previous home to their new park home.
Whilst park-homes have increasingly become a lifestyle choice there may be some doubts over the short term growth in the sector. Five or ten years ago it was possible to buy park homes in seaside resorts for less than the average cost of a two bedroom house in the same area. This is often no longer the case and park-homes can now reach £300,000. And when you consider the site fees are added to the purchase price, we may see a fall in the number of people choosing park homes for mainly financial reasons.
But it is interesting that more people are choosing park-homes as lifetime choices. Perhaps there is much that some of the more mainstream housing providers can learn from choices people are making. The desire for security and a sense of community are clearly strong motivators when individuals consider their retirement housing needs.
A common case for park-home living was the perception of the safe living environment. Some pointed to the sites as providing cohesive communities although Bevan points out that not all found the sense of community.
In terms of conflicts and tensions, Bevan highlights an issue where site ownership changes. The research finds that the death of a site owner can impact significantly on the site. And while Bevan’s sample is small, he does highlight concerns from some residents about conflicts with other residents or owners.
The Park Homes Residents Action Alliance highlights more serious concerns than Bevan identified. They claim to receive complaints from “hundreds of distraught, terrified and traumatised elderly and vulnerable park homeowners nationally relating, very often in tears, horrific accounts of the disgusting treatment being metered out daily against them” (4).
Given the anger expressed by residents groups such as the Park Home Residents Action Alliance, it seems that life is not all bliss in the park-home world. If the sector wants park-homes to be seen as a more mainstream choice for people in retirement (and it is undoubtedly a good choice for many), they need to address the concerns of these groups and ensure that the abuses reported do not happen. Equally there is a role for Department for Communities and Local Government. And perhaps a need for more regulation.
But park-homes are an area where there has been limited research. Much more is needed to understand the aspirations and reality for people living in them.
David Sinclair
References
1) Retirement lifestyles in a niche housing market: park- home living in England. Bevan, M Ageing & Society 30, 2010 965-985 Cambridge University Press
2) Whilst park homes are mobile in name, they do not tend to move once they have been sited.
3) http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/buyingselling/parkmobile/
4) http://www.phraa.co.uk/latest/spring-2010-newsletter-page-1.html