Residents at a holiday park who are being evicted for overstaying in their lodge claim they have been "mis-sold".
About 100 residents who made their units at Edgeley Holiday Park in Cambridge their permanent home have reportedly been served an eviction notice for breaching their leases.
People living at the park said many of those being evicted are elderly who have been spending their retirement there, or residents who were unable to move elsewhere due to Covid.
They have now been told they have 28 days to vacate the properties as contracts stipulate the portable units are only to be used as holiday homes and not for more than 11 months in a year.
The breach came to surface during Covid-19, when people were spending more time in the lodges as they couldn't travel because of lockdown.
One resident blasted the company which owns the site, Haulfryn, saying the lodges have been "mis-sold", SurreyLive reports.
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Resident Bob Bullen said: "Our biggest gripe is the verbal mis-selling to many people over the past 30 years.
"The staff on site selling these places told us we can live here permanently and all we must do is show a bill and driving licence registered to different premises.
"I showed my documents at the very beginning when I moved in three years ago, and nothing more was said until I got the letter last month.
"More than 100 letters have been issued. It is going on around the country right now and I think councils are worried they are losing money [in lost council tax]."
Mr Bullen would usually vacate the park each year for trips to Tenerife, which was not possible last year due to the pandemic.
Sylvia Wheeler is another disgruntled pensioner in a similar situation who echoed the same sentiment. She also did not leave the park last year when it was closed due to the initial Covid-19 lockdown.
The 81-year-old has lived there since 2007 and insists no one has ever raised her status as an issue as she spent considerable time each year away from her cabin while in Spain.
But due to travel restrictions coupled with her being unable to return to her main residence because she can no longer climb the stairs in the house, she has stayed put.
She pays £600 ground rent for maintenance and use of the facilities at the park – which has a pool, sauna, fitness suite and tennis court in its 26 acres.
Her neighbour, Robert Wright, said: "I have to sell my lodge and give Haulfryn 15 per cent of the price.
"It cost me £160,000 only three years ago. I must now sell it as a second-hand lodge for a 45 per cent loss before I pay Haulfryn. It has been mis-sold to me."
He added: "We could pick up our lodges and move them elsewhere, but trying to find a plot is near impossible. No park owner will want us, because if they get a plot come available they want to put a new cabin on it and sell that to maximise profit.
"The whole industry has been unregulated for far too long."
Residents are anxious because despite going to Mole Valley District Council and Guildford Borough Council, they have been told they are not eligible for social housing or temporary shelter until bailiffs arrive and issue them with an 'end of the road' notice.
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Haulfryn's website states holiday homes should not be used for "long, continuous" periods of time and that buyers "require a permanent residential address" to purchase them.
A spokesman for the company told The Mirror: "All buyers are provided with a contract before they proceed with their purchase.
"Buyers of a lodge agree to abide by the terms of this contract which states owners can only use their holiday home for holiday and recreational purposes, not as their only or main permanent residence.
"This contract is based on model wording provided by trade bodies, the British Holiday & Home Parks Association and the National Caravan Council.
"Haulfryn continues to liaise with each owner on an individual basis regarding each of their personal situations."
