Mobile park homes and residential sites
A park home is a type of mobile home that you live in all year round.
You buy the park home but rent your pitch from a residential site owner.
Residential sites
Residential sites must be licensed by the local council. They are called protected sites.
You have strong rights on a protected site. For example, the site owner:
cannot evict you without a reason and a court order
must not harass you or interfere with your rights, for example, to sell your park home or give it to a family member
Holiday sites
You cannot live on a holiday site all year round.
You have fewer rights on a holiday site than a residential site.
Holiday sites are called unprotected sites. They are still licensed by the council.
Mixed use sites
Some sites have licences for residential and holiday use. Different parts of the park may be set aside for residence or holidays.
Contact your local council if you:
want to know about a site's licence
think the site owner is breaking licence conditions
Pitch fees
You must pay a pitch fee to the site owner. Pitch fees are usually paid monthly.
Park site owners must give you 28 days' notice in writing if they want to increase the pitch fee. They can only do this once a year.
You can claim benefits to help pay your pitch fee and maintenance charges if you live in your mobile home.
Utility charges
Check what your written agreement says about charges for water, gas, electricity or LPG.
Sometimes these services are included as part of your pitch fee and sometimes they are a separate charge.
The site owner cannot make a profit from selling on water, gas or electricity but LPG is not regulated in this way.
Council tax
You need to pay council tax if you live in a park home but not in a holiday home.
You can apply for a council tax reduction if you are on a low income. You can apply for a single person's discount of 25% if you live by yourself.
Repairs and upkeep
You are responsible for the upkeep of:
your mobile home
fences or outbuildings that you own or have on your pitch
Park home site owners are responsible for:
keeping shared areas such as walkways in good condition
repairs to the hardstanding area where your home sits
services they supply such as sewerage
Site rules
The site owner must give you a written copy of site rules, terms and conditions.
Park home sites usually have rules about:
parking arrangements
if children or pets are allowed
satellite dishes and television aerials
Eviction
A park home site owner can only end your agreement by getting a court order.
The court will only grant an order if it is reasonable to end your agreement. For example:
you have not paid your pitch fees
you broke site rules, for example, you caused antisocial behaviour
you seriously breached agreement terms, for example, you assaulted another resident
you do not occupy your mobile home as your only or main residence
your mobile home is in very poor condition
Selling a mobile park home
You have the right to sell your mobile home without the site owner's consent.
The buyer has to pay 10% of the agreed sale price to the site owner. They will deduct this from the amount they pay you.
For example, if the agreed sale price is £100,000 you will get £90,000 and the site owner will get £10,000
Passing on your home and pitch when you die
If you die, your mobile park home and your pitch agreement can pass to a partner or other family member who you live with.
If you pass your home on to a friend or family member who does not live you, they will not have an automatic right to take over the agreement for the pitch. They would need the consent of the site owner.
Giving a mobile park home to a family member
You can give your home to a partner or family member during your lifetime. They must live there as their main home.
Need more advice on park homes?
Get free independent legal advice from LEASE
Last updated: 3 August 2022
