Site owners responsibilities

Good morning everyone, on this lovely sunny day!    Have just read one of Evergreen's posts regarding the aromatic nature of her neighbour's personal zoo, and it prompts me to ask a question concerning drains.   We live at the far end of a park home on a cul de sac where there are 5 park homes (singles and doubles) where water pressure is always low (if more than two taps are on, water dribbles out) and the drains are problematic if everyone is home.   The drains keep backing up and although we are rodding them to try and clear them, the frequency between doing this is getting shorter.   The site owner is aware of the situation, but is not being very proactive in resolving the issue.   Where does the owner stand if my toiler overflows in my park home and causes consequential damage and I wish to claim against her insurance (assuming she has any?).   Can I ask a professional drainage company to carry out a survey and invoice her?   What can we - as site "tenants" do to get something done by the site owner?

Hello  Meekat  hope  your  well ......Ive  had  drain  problems ..in  fact   7  times  in  5years, the  underground  pipes  blocked  solid ,  this  I  think ( and  Im  no  plumber )  is  due  to  a  cracked  underground  pipe..the  first  time  I  was  accused  of putting  toilet  roll  holders  down  the  toilet  ...derrrrrrrr  I  dont  think  so..the  last  time  errr  sanitary  wear  , the  last  of  which  was  years  ago ,  but  I  asked  the  site  owner  in  the  first  place  to  please  put  the  sewer  problem  right....days  went  by ...couldnt  shower  because  the  water  wouldnt  run  away, couldnt  flush  the  loo ...so  I  rang  the  council..and  like  a magic  wand  shooosh  the  owners  fixed  it, the  council  reccomended  a  camera  down  but  heaven  forbid  it  costs  82  pounds  and  money  apart  from site  fees  is  unheard  of ...........so  now  I  ask  them  once  and  after  giving  reasonable  time  to  fix  it  I  ring  the  council............the  funny  part  is  the  coucil  guy  and  me  are  on  first  names  terms  its  been  that  many  times ....last  time  they  insisted  the  camera  was  put  down ...........but  guess what..he  got  away  with  it  again...and  they  say  go  to  the  council  about  licence  problems...now  you  can  see  why  people  dont  bother... oh  when  this  problem  arises  the  reaction  from  the  site  owner  and  co    amounts  to  threatening  behavour..................the  council  have  now  told  me  if  this  happens  again  Ive  got  to  ring  them  first........the  water  in  the  loo  trap  is  falling  so  watch  this  space.................hope  you  get  it  sorted  meerkat

Hi  meerkat  its  me  again  Ive  just thought  ......I  think  you  will  find  in  your  agreement  the  services  are  the  site  owners  responsabilty, you  shouldnt  be  rodding  dam  pipes..its  a  disgrace,  evergreen

The Park Owner is responsible for all foul drainage and surface water drainage. If you pay your water rates directly to the water company and you are suffering low water pressure you should contact the Local Water Board to fix the problem. If you pay your water rates to your park owner, he is responsible for giving you a usuable supply.

If your toilet is backing up to dangerous overflow levels, Meerkat, this is a Health and Safety issue and one that Trading Standards, as well as your local Environmental Dept should be interested in. Evergreen is correct in saying, you should not have to do this yourself. The reason I say Trading Standads, is because you are paying for a service that you are not receiving.

If you are having problems getting the person responsible at the local Council getting things like this sorted, then go one more up the ladder, until finally write to your local MP and local Councillors.

Having been a park owner for more years than I care to remember, it sickens me that Park Owners can treat people in this way. Although I'm sure we aren't the only industry having problems from what I hear, some private housing landlords are just as bad!

Ed.

Hello,  hope  your  ok  Meerkat....on  the  subject  of  services...3 years  ago  our  water  pressure  dropped  considerably, couldnt  even  use  the  washing  machine  or  shower........it  was  stripped  down  wash  " not  a  pretty  sight "  in  front  of  the  sink  for .................................................................... 9 !!!!!  weeks..we  told  the  site  owner  who  said  it  was  road  works  on  the main  road, which  finished  6 weeks  previous, well  to  cut  a lot  of  excuses  short, I  rang  the  water  board  ,then  the  army "owner  and  co "  jumped  into  action....no  idea  where  the  pipes  were ....so  in  came  the  water  board ,  found  it  straight away,  a  large  broken  pipe  was  the  problem....but  the  site  owner  had  to  get  it  repaired...now  I  thought  only  plumbers   could  mess  with  underground  water  pipes  but  perhaps  not....but  9  weeks  of  hell  put  right  once  the  authorities  were  involved...........Ed  I  can  understand  how  you  feel , especially  if  your  parks  are  run  properly, maybe  the  parkhome  industry  has  a stronger voice  than  Joe  public  and  maybe  together  can  stamp  these  injustices  out  once  and  for  all...................the  old  saying  one  bad  apple, but  unfortunately  theres  a  few  more  than  one  amongst  site  owners..to  behave  in  this  way  they  must  feel  they  will  get  away  with  it..and  nine  times  out  of  ten  they  do.  evergreen

Thank you both for your comments.   It at least gives me a way forward.   It is such a shame that some parkhome site owners cannot be publically rated to "encourage" them to be responsibile managers rather than cash collectors!   Hopefully Park Home Living will become a powerful voice that can be heard over and above site owners who - more often than not - have a close friendship with one of more councillors.   Watch this space to see when/how/if I can get this resolved.   Have a lovely May - especially as we will not have rain in the South for a couple of weeks yet.   Poor plants.

Hi  Meerkat  hope  your  well ,, at  least  you  sound  more  posative , it  can  be  very  frustrating  when  you  feel  your  banging  your  head  up  the  wall...it  would  be  easier  all  round  if  people  played  by  the  rules  instead  of  taking  penny  pinching  short  cuts,  its  quite  understandable  that  site  owners  are  running  a  business, but  like  all  areas  of  business  comunication  and  fairness  must  be  adhered  to  surely ?.....respect  is  a  two  way  street....................  We  have  had  quite  a few  showers  meerkat..Ile  go  into  the  garden  and  do  a raindance  for  the  south  lol ,   tc  evergreen

can you please help  is the site owner responsable for blockages and also to pay for  unblockages , as  all the residents on our site we own our homes and we are being charged with the bill, we pay site owner for sewage and water, can any one hepl ?thank you

Hello  fairyvalekatie, as  far  as  I  know  the  site  owner  is  responsable  for  sewers  and  water, no  way  should  you  pay  twice ......... apparently  there  are  changes  in  the  pipeline  for  water  companies  to  take  over  these  things  even  on  private  land,  this  can  only  be  a  good  thing  , taking  away  some  of  these  grey  areas.   evergreen