Mobile homes on a park home site
Buying a mobile home on a park site can be affordable but make sure you're aware of all charges and fees.
What is a park home?
A park home is a mobile home where you can live all year around.
You may find buying a park home is an affordable option.
You buy the mobile home but you can't usually buy the pitch that your home is sited on. You normally rent the pitch site from the site owner.
Park home sites where you can live all year round are called protected sites.
Park home sites must be licensed by the local council.
Holiday sites
You can't live all year round on a holiday site.
Holiday sites with mobile homes are called unprotected sites.
You have fewer rights on a holiday site compared with a park site.
Mixed use sites
Some sites have licences for both residential and holiday use. Different parts of the park may be designated for residence or holidays.
Buying a mobile home
Banks and building societies don't offer mortgages for buying mobile homes.
Look for a specialist lender if you need a loan to buy a mobile home.
Mobile homes generally lose value over time. They don't gain value like other homes.
You can’t get benefits to cover personal loan repayments for buying your mobile home.
Costs and fees
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.
Service charges
You usually also pay the site owners service charges for services such as:
water
site maintenance on shared facilities
Make sure that you check which fees and charges you have to pay with the site owner before you sign any agreement.
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
any fences or outbuildings that you own or have on your pitch
Park 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 to your home 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
whether children or pets are allowed
satellite dishes and television aerials
Eviction
A park site owner can only end your agreement by getting a court order.
The court will only grant an order because it is reasonable to end your agreement and any of these apply:
you haven't 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 don't occupy your mobile home as your only or main residence
your mobile home is in very poor condition
Selling your mobile home
You have the right to sell your mobile home. You don't have to tell the site owner who you are selling it to.
The site owner is entitled to up to 10% of the sale price as commission. The new owner pays this.
You can also gift your home to a member of your family.
Passing on your site when you die
If you die, your site agreement can carry on with:
a family member who was living with you at the time of your death
your husband, wife or civil partner who was living with you at the time of your death
Anyone else will need agreement from the site owner to live in your mobile home on the site.
Need more help?
For general information about mobile home sites, contact the:
Get advice if you're facing eviction or are at risk of losing your home.
Contact your local council's environmental health department if you:
want to know if the site has had problems
think the site owner is breaking licence conditions
Last updated: 11 March 2019
