Park Homes FAQ's

As the name suggests holiday lodges are to be used for holidays and not as your main residence. Check with the park you wish to purchase on if there are restrictions on how long you can stay on the park. Some parks are open 10,11 or 12 months of the year and others open seasonally e.g. 1st March to 31st October. On seasonal parks you will need to vacate the home when it is closed, parks open all year round may not be restrictive on how long you can stay there, but you will need to have a main residence elsewhere.

The cost of a park home will vary depending on where you wish to live and what the park is offering in the way of accommodation and extras. Park home prices are affected by the property market as are houses, however you will generally find the prices much cheaper than you would pay for a comparable house or bungalow.

The Mobile Homes Act 1983 made important changes in the way the law applies to mobile home sites. The Act applies to privately owned licensed sites, and to sites owned by local authorities. The Act, which replaces sections 1 to 6 of the Mobile Homes Act 1975, came into force on 20 May 1983. It introduced important new rules about security of tenure, the sale of mobile homes and other details of agreements between site owners and residents. The ‘Park Home Factsheet’ publications provide key information and basic guidance to park home owners about commonly raised issues concerning park home sites.

The protection offered by the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Amended 2006) applies to licensed mobile home residential parks - and is not available to holiday parks. There are also important differences between a residential park home, which is designed and built for year round residential living, and a caravan holiday home, which differs in construction standards reflecting its use as leisure accommodation. So in your own interests, and to safeguard your investment in a park home you may wish to ensure that your prospective mobile home park has a local authority site licence for park home residential (not just holiday) use. If in any doubt then employ the services of a solicitor. This does not imply that holiday lodges do not make good investments, it highlights that you will not have the equal protection available as you will on a licensed park. You may find that the park home still operates according to the Park Home Charter.