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The ongoing commitment

Holiday Lodge Site Fees Explained

The important number is not just this year's site fee. It is what the agreement allows it to become.

Understand the fees before you buy
8 fee checksWhat you pay and what can change3 growth scenariosThe ten-year picture, not a forecast6 questions to askBefore you commit to the purchase

Site fees, also called pitch fees, are the recurring charge for keeping your holiday lodge or static caravan on a park pitch. They can include park maintenance and services, but they are not necessarily your complete annual ownership bill. [1][2]

Before buying, establish three things: the full fee for your exact pitch, what sits outside it, and how future increases are calculated. A free first year is a benefit. It is not a plan for the next ten.

What do site fees cover?

Depending on the park, the fee may cover pitch use, grounds upkeep, security and access to some facilities. Electricity, gas, insurance, rates, winterisation and other services may be charged separately. The NCC lists several of these as additional annual budgeting items. [1][2][3]

Ask for an itemised schedule showing what is included, compulsory extras and optional services. Check the full amount payable including VAT where applicable.

How much are holiday lodge site fees?

There is no single tariff that applies to every lodge or every buyer. Parkdean says its fees vary with the park, pitch location and unit size. Haven also identifies the prevailing rate when an owner enters the park as a factor. [1][2]

These are examples of published 2026 figures checked on 24 September 2026:

Published 2026 fee examples
Published exampleAnnual feeWhat the figure describes
Waterfoot Park£5,541.14 including VAT2026 Twin Lodge Pitch. The precise fee may vary by pitch and is subject to annual review. [4]
Glan Y Don£6,120.16 including VATIts published 2026 twin-unit fee. [5]
Parkdean Resorts£3,250 to £12,495Its advertised range across caravans and lodges, not a lodge-only average. [1]

These are published park examples, not a national average, market benchmark or directly comparable quotes. Parks differ in location, facilities, pitch, unit size/type and what the fee includes. They are not endorsements or a like-for-like ranking. The Parkdean page does not separately specify VAT treatment alongside that range. Obtain the full payable figure for your own pitch.

Compare equivalent pitch categories, fee years, facilities, included charges and promotional status. A neighbour's older agreement may not establish what a new buyer will pay.

How much can site fees increase?

Do not assume holiday-lodge fees are automatically limited to inflation or covered by residential park-home rules. The Commons Library distinguishes the contractual holiday-ownership position in England from the statutory protections for qualifying residential park homes. Consumer protections against unfair terms still apply to holiday agreements. [6]

The review clause should explain what can change, the calculation and how an increase can be challenged. Business Companion's Trading Standards guidance specifically addresses these points. [7]

For how the review clause fits the wider pitch agreement, read Holiday Lodge Licence Agreements Explained.

“Inflation is considered” does not mean “inflation is the limit”

The published NCC and BH&HPA model agreements allow their review processes to consider more than inflation, including outside charges, expenditure benefiting owners and operating expenses. They also have different notice and objection provisions. These are model contracts, not universal statutory rules. [8][9]

A salesperson saying fees “usually follow inflation” is therefore not a substitute for reading your actual clause.

For context, Haven's owner guidance announced a 5.2% increase for 2026. That is a published operator-specific increase, not an industry average, a forecast or proof that any particular increase is unfair. [10]

A cap can help, but read its scope

Leisure Resorts publishes a maximum 6% annual site-fee increase in its Site Fee Choice terms. This demonstrates that published caps exist. It does not mean every park offers one or that every buyer can negotiate one. [11]

Confirm which charges a cap covers, how long it applies and whether exceptions or separate charges remain. An upper limit still needs to fit your budget.

What could fees cost over ten years?

The following is an illustration, not a prediction. It starts with a £6,000 fee in Year 1 and applies an assumed increase once before each subsequent year.

The same starting fee. Different assumptions.

£6,000 in Year 1
Illustrative ten-year fee growth
Assumed annual increaseFee in Year 5Fee in Year 10Total paid in Years 1 to 10
3%£6,753£7,829£68,783
5%£7,293£9,308£75,467
7%£7,865£11,031£82,899

Figures are rounded to the nearest pound. Year 10 follows nine increases. Totals exclude the lodge purchase, other running costs, finance and resale proceeds, assume no concessions, and are future nominal pounds rather than today's purchasing power.

The point is not that your fee will follow any of these paths. It is to test whether ownership still works under different assumptions instead of treating today's bill as permanent.

How the examples are calculated

Each year's fee is the starting fee multiplied by (1 + the assumed annual increase) once for each previous year. Year 5 therefore follows four increases; Year 10 follows nine.

The ten-year total adds Years 1 to 10 before rounding. These fixed illustrations do not forecast any park's future charges.

Are free site fees, fixed fees and letting offsets the same?

No. Separate four different arrangements.

Free fees or a credit
reduce what you pay for a specified period or amount. Check whether the offer covers complete years, the remainder of a season or only a fixed cash credit.
A fixed fee
holds a defined charge at an agreed amount for a defined period. Establish what happens afterwards, including whether the fee resets to a higher tariff.
A capped increase
limits a rise rather than freezing the bill. Check what sits inside and outside the cap.
A letting offset
uses income from letting the lodge against its costs. Haven's Let2offset, for example, requires specified letting availability. It is not the same as the park simply waiving the underlying fee. [2]

A useful published example is Leisure Resorts' option to spread one year's site-fee credit across four years. That is not four free years. Its terms say annual fees still rise and exclude utilities, insurance and other account charges from the credit. Confirm the exact credit and conditions in your own offer. [11][12]

The published credit terms refer to the 2025 site fee for the chosen park and pitch. Confirm the cash credit on your current purchase offer rather than assuming it equals the new annual fee. [11]

Compare the full period, not the headline offer

Consider two hypothetical fee packages. Both increase by 5% annually from Year 2, including during any free period:

Illustrative package comparison
Illustrative packageStarting feeConcessionSite fees paid, Years 1–10
Package A£7,500Full fees for Years 1 and 2 waived£78,959
Package B£6,000No free years£75,467

In this example, the package with two free years costs about £3,492 more in site fees over ten years.

That is not a verdict on either park or the whole purchase. It isolates why the starting fee, review mechanism and intended ownership period matter alongside concessions.

Can you negotiate site fees?

You can ask. Do not plan your purchase around the assumption that the park will agree.

Our approach is to examine both immediate cost and future exposure. Depending on the proposal, we may challenge the starting fee, request a contribution, seek a defined fixed period, or ask for clearer limits on future reviews and separately charged items.

We assess the complete purchase package. A fee concession needs to be weighed against the lodge price, included extras, restrictions and the agreement, not treated as a saving in isolation.

Where a park will not change an important term, the next question is whether that risk is acceptable or whether another park is a better fit.

What evidence should you request before committing?

Request the current fee schedule, the actual review clause, a written explanation of any concession and, where available, several years of invoices or review notices for comparable pitches.

For a historical comparison, separate the underlying fee from temporary discounts, VAT changes, additional charges and changes in what was included. Record the year and source. Missing history is an information gap, not proof of wrongdoing; an apparently stable history is not a future guarantee.

Six questions bring the assessment together:

  1. What is the full current annual fee for this exact pitch, and what is extra?
  2. What does the next review permit, and when will it happen?
  3. Is there a defined calculation, inflation index, minimum increase or maximum?
  4. What will I actually pay after the promotion ends?
  5. What changes if I sell, leave early or the park changes ownership?
  6. How do I challenge an increase, and what notice or deadline applies?

Get important answers recorded. Verbal statements can have legal significance, so keep emails, messages and notes as evidence; getting commitments into the final paperwork reduces avoidable uncertainty. [13]

Already facing an increase you did not expect?

Request the relevant clause, the park's calculation and the written reasons for the rise. Follow the complaint procedure and obtain consumer or legal advice about deadlines, payment obligations and available remedies.

An expensive fee is not automatically legally unfair. Business Companion distinguishes a transparent, prominent starting price from a later price-variation clause, which remains subject to the fairness test. [13]

Do not assume a group-objection threshold in a model contract removes your individual legal rights, and do not simply stop paying without advice. The appropriate response depends on the actual agreement and circumstances. [7][13]

Source Material

Sources

  1. Parkdean: pitch fees Opens in a new tab
  2. Haven: site fees and Let2offset Opens in a new tab
  3. NCC: annual ownership costs Opens in a new tab
  4. Waterfoot Park: 2026 Twin Lodge Pitch Opens in a new tab
  5. Glan Y Don: 2026 twin-unit fee Opens in a new tab
  6. Commons Library: holiday ownership in England Opens in a new tab
  7. Business Companion: fees and owner relations Opens in a new tab
  8. NCC model agreement, clause 9 Opens in a new tab
  9. BH&HPA model agreement, clause 8 Opens in a new tab
  10. Haven: 2026 increase Opens in a new tab
  11. Leisure Resorts: Site Fee Choice terms Opens in a new tab
  12. Leisure Resorts: credit options Opens in a new tab
  13. Business Companion: contracts and unfair terms Opens in a new tab

Independent Commercial Help

Make the ownership costs part of the buying decision

See what we check

Park & Lodge examines the quoted fee, what it includes, the review wording, available history and concessions as part of the wider purchase. We challenge the commercial proposal where there is a credible opportunity and make unresolved risks clear.

We cannot guarantee future fees or require a park to change its terms. Our role is to help you make a better-informed decision before committing, with specialist legal advice where needed.

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