Buying a park home: checklist

If you’re viewing a used park home, find out if it has been well maintained.

• Structure: check windows, doors, floors, walls, roof and guttering; look for signs of damp or structural issues
• Utilities: check heating, plumbing, electrical sockets and switches

It’s a good idea to get a survey on a used park home.

Many park homes come with a warranty. Ask the seller if their park home is still covered.

If you’re buying a new park home, ask for details about the warranty, including how long it lasts and what is covered.

Make sure the park has a residential licence from the local authority, allowing you to live there permanently all year round.

Park home sites must display their licence in a prominent place – this will usually be on a notice board. You could also ask to see the licence when you visit the site, or check the local authority’s website.

Find out more: site licences and conditions

The pitch agreement is a legal contract that outlines the terms, rights, and responsibilities between you (the park home owner) and the site owner. The written statement forms part of the pitch agreement, and sets out the main terms.

If you’re thinking of buying from an existing homeowner, you’ll be taking over their pitch agreement with the site owner. Ask to see their written statement before making an offer.

If you’re thinking of buying a new park home from the site owner, you’ll need a new pitch agreement and written statement.

A written statement will include:

• express terms specific to your park (for example, site rules)
• implied terms, which are legal rights and responsibilities you have regardless of whether or not they’re in the paperwork – they override any contradictory express terms

Check that you understand and are happy with all the terms. Get advice if you’re not sure.

Use our checklist to make sure you understand the terms

Most residential park home sites will have site rules. These are there to help ensure safety, and maintain standards and a sense of community.

Check that you’re happy with the site rules, as they’ll affect how you live on the site.

Sire rules are terms of the pitch agreement and are legally binding.

Site rules cover things like:

• age restrictions: for example a site may be restricted to those aged 55 and over
• noise control and antisocial behaviour: this can include banned noises (for example radios, televisions), restrictions on noise from pets or time restrictions
• keeping pets
• where vehicles can be parked
• keeping the pitch clean and tidy

Find out more: site rules

Park home owners sometimes report issues such as poorly maintained drains, roads or footpaths.

When you visit a site to view a park home, find out if the site is generally well maintained. You could speak to site residents to find out what they think.

Other things the site owner maintains include:

• common areas like access ways
• boundary fences
• trees

The site licence should also tell you what other maintenance the site owner is responsible for.

Find out more: repairs and improvements

When choosing a site, you might want to find out what type of security measures are used, for example:

• gates
• CCTV
• security staff

You might want to visit the site at different times to find out what life is like at the site during evenings and weekends.

One of the ongoing costs of living in a park home is the pitch fee.

Check how much the pitch fee is, and make sure it’s affordable for you.

Usually paid monthly, a pitch fee is a charge you must pay regularly to the site owner if you own a park home. It covers your right to keep your park home on the site, maintenance of the site, and use of shared areas such as roads and paths.

Find out more: pitch fees

Park home utilities such as electricity and gas are usually supplied via the site owner, who connects individual pitches to a central network. Some sites let you choose your own suppliers.

Find out if electricity, gas and water are charged separately from your pitch fee and how you will be charged, for example by a meter on the pitch or some other arrangement.

Find out more: utilities