The basics
Holiday home or residential park home?
They can look alike, but a holiday caravan and a residential park home are treated very differently in law. A park home can be your main home and comes with statutory rights; a holiday caravan can’t be, and in Great Britain doesn’t.
On this page
At a glance
- A residential park home is someone’s only or main home on a “protected site”; holiday parks aren’t protected sites.
- Park home residents have rights under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Northern Ireland: the Caravans Act (NI) 2011) that override the contract.
- Park homes pay council tax and their pitch fees are VAT-exempt; holiday pitch fees carry 20% VAT, and holiday caravans don’t pay council tax.
- The 10% cap on sale commission and the inflation-linked pitch fee rules are for park homes only.
Two different things
A residential park home is a caravan lived in as someone’s only or main home on a protected site — a site whose planning permission and licence aren’t limited to holidays and don’t impose a closed season. Holiday parks are excluded from that definition.
A holiday caravan or holiday lodge on a holiday park is for holidays only. The NCC stresses that the park home laws don’t apply to holiday caravans or lodges on parks licensed as holiday parks: in Great Britain your rights come from your licence agreement and general consumer law. Northern Ireland is the exception — it gives holiday caravan owners some statutory rights of their own; see Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Some parks are “mixed”, with residential pitches in one area and holiday pitches in another. HARPA (formerly BH&HPA) warns that buying a holiday unit on a mixed park still doesn’t allow you to live in it.
Side by side
| Holiday caravan or lodge | Residential park home | |
|---|---|---|
| Can it be your main home? | No — holidays only | Yes |
| Usual build standard | BS EN 1647 (lodges often BS 3632) | BS 3632 |
| Where your main rights come from | Your licence agreement and consumer law | The Mobile Homes Act 1983 (NI: Caravans Act (NI) 2011), which override the contract |
| Council tax | No — the park pays business rates and may recharge you | Yes |
| VAT on the pitch fee | 20% | Exempt |
| Pitch fee increases | Whatever the agreement says, subject to unfair-terms law | Yearly review, presumed no more than inflation |
| Commission when you sell | Whatever the agreement says — no legal cap | Capped at 10% (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) |
| Disputes | The park, the NCC dispute service (member parks), the courts | A tribunal (England, Wales) or the county court (NI) |
Park home rights in brief
The Mobile Homes Act 1983 gives residents a written statement of the agreement, which must be given at least 28 days before the agreement is made unless the buyer agrees to a shorter time. Express terms that aren’t in writing can’t be enforced by the site owner, and terms implied by law override the contract.
In England, the Mobile Homes Act 2013 made it illegal to evict residents without a court order or to harass them, and from 26 May 2013 allowed residents to sell on the open market without the site owner’s approval (for agreements made before then, the site owner can object to a tribunal on limited grounds).
Pitch fee reviews for park homes take place once a year:
- England — at least 28 days’ written notice on the prescribed form. The increase is presumed to be no more than CPI; it was RPI until the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023 came into force on 2 July 2023. Disputes go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
- Wales — under the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013, in force from 1 October 2014, the presumption is linked to CPI. Disagreements go to the Residential Property Tribunal Wales.
- Scotland — the presumption switched from RPI to CPI on 1 April 2026, under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025.
- Northern Ireland — under the Caravans Act (NI) 2011, at least 28 days’ notice, with the presumption linked to RPI. Disputes go to the county court.
Commission on a sale is capped for park homes: up to 10% of the sale price in England (paid by the buyer), and a maximum of 10% in Wales and in Northern Ireland. In Scotland the rate is whatever is set by order of the Scottish Ministers — we couldn’t confirm the current Scottish figure.
Park homes, being someone’s main home, pay council tax, and their pitch fees are exempt from VAT. A holiday caravan doesn’t pay council tax and its pitch fee carries 20% VAT — see the costs of owning one.
Help for park home residents
In England, LEASE (the Leasehold Advisory Service) gives free advice to park home residents, and disputes go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). GOV.UK says that if an agreement requires arbitration, residents can use the tribunal instead. Our help page has the links.
Sources
Checked 6 October 2026. We wrote this guide from these sources, in our own words:
- Caravan Sites Act 1968, section 1 (protected sites) (legislation.gov.uk)
- Mobile Homes Act 1983, section 1 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Mobile Homes Act 1983, Schedule 1 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013, Schedule 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
- GOV.WALES: park home pitch fees (gov.wales)
- Mobile Homes (Commissions) Order 1983 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Mobile Homes (Selling and Gifting) (Wales) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Caravans Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (legislation.gov.uk)
- GOV.UK: Park homes — know your rights (gov.uk)
- GOV.UK: Park homes — selling or giving away (gov.uk)
- GOV.UK: Park homes — charges (gov.uk)
- GOV.UK: Park homes — settling disputes (gov.uk)
- HMRC VAT Notice 701/20: caravans and houseboats (gov.uk)
- NCC: guidance for consumers thinking of buying a residential park home (thencc.org.uk)
- NCC: Making the best use of your holiday caravan (2025) (thencc.org.uk)
- UK Parks (HARPA): Buying a holiday caravan FAQs (ukparks.com)
- LEASE (Leasehold Advisory Service) (lease-advice.org)
Travel Trailers is an independent guide. It is not owned by, or connected to, any holiday park operator, caravan manufacturer, dealer or trade body. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.