Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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452. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will issue instructions to the owners and operators of mobile home parks to suspend charges to users for the period while the users cannot get access to their mobile homes due to Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8835/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The application of charges for mobile homes during the Covid-19 restrictions is likely to be determined by the terms and conditions which were agreed at the time of contracting.

Where there is a written contract drafted by a trader in advance (often referred to as a standard form consumer contract) and a consumer does not have the opportunity to influence the terms contained within the contract, then those contract terms will be subject to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts regulations. It is important to highlight that under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts regulations, traders, including mobile home parks are obliged to adhere to the Terms and Conditions previously agreed. A trader cannot subsequently change the Terms and Conditions without the consumer’s agreement.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), which is an agency of my Department, recommends that consumers check the terms and conditions of their agreement with the mobile home park. If a consumer thinks a mobile home park is not acting in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract they can make a complaint to the Commission. Following this process, if the issue is not resolved, they may have to take legal action. If the claim is less than €2,000, consumers can use the Small Claims procedure to try and resolve the issue.