What to Check Before Buying a Holiday Lodge

Check three separate controls: the park's planning permission, its local authority site licence and the purchase or pitch agreement offered to you.

A park may open throughout the year while remaining for holiday and recreational use only. A lodge's construction standard does not override planning conditions or turn a holiday agreement into permission to use it as a permanent home.

Planning permission

Controls the authorised use of the land and may limit holiday occupation or parts of the year.

Site licence

Sets operational and physical conditions for the site through the local authority.

Purchase / pitch agreement

Sets your contractual rights, costs, restrictions and responsibilities with the seller or park.

Buyer-side viewPhrases such as ‘open all year’ or ‘twelve month season’ describe availability, not necessarily the use that is legally and contractually permitted.

Evidence: House of Commons Library opens in a new tab, NCC consumer guidance opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab

Confirm the full legal identity of the seller, the person receiving your money and the park operator granting the pitch rights. Do not assume those roles belong to the same business.

Consumer Rights Act protections described by Business Companion apply when you buy from a trader. A private purchase has a different legal position, so do not assume the same remedies apply.

Buyer-side viewUse Companies House to check registered details, officers, charges and insolvency information where available. Treat it as an identity check, not a recommendation of the business.

Evidence: Business Companion: fair-trading law opens in a new tab, Companies House opens in a new tab

Ask for one written breakdown showing the total price and every mandatory charge before you reserve or pay. Compare the whole package, not only the advertised lodge price or discount.

Buyer-side viewA lower headline price is not a better deal if the package removes included items or adds compulsory costs elsewhere.

Evidence: Business Companion: fair-trading law opens in a new tab, Business Companion: sales and contracts opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab

A lodge purchase will normally involve a purchase agreement and a pitch licence, sometimes combined. Read them alongside the park rules, fee schedule, letting terms, warranty documents, finance terms and any other policy forming part of the deal.

Pre-contract information and statements relied on by a buyer can form part of the contract or otherwise have legal relevance. Preserve the evidence and make sure important promises appear clearly in the final paperwork.

• Complete purchase and pitch agreement
• Current park rules and fee schedule
• Letting, warranty and finance terms
• Emails, messages and sales notes
• Brochures, price sheets and listing screenshots
• Photographs of the represented lodge, pitch or view
• Letting projections and buy-back statements
• Written confirmation of included extras and promises

Buyer-side viewSeparate what the documents prove, what the seller has represented and what remains an assumption. An unanswered point should stay visible until it is resolved.

Evidence: Business Companion: contracts and unfair terms opens in a new tab, House of Commons Library opens in a new tab, Business Companion: sales and contracts opens in a new tab

The agreement should give a clear start date, end date and explanation of what happens when the term expires. Check how much time remains and what term a future buyer would receive.

NCC guidance says member parks should provide at least twelve years for a new lodge, with a pre-owned lodge normally receiving the balance of that period from its first consumer sale. This is an NCC member standard, not a universal statutory minimum.

Read the term together with the sale and termination clauses: they should explain private sale routes, buyer approval, transfer or agency charges, buy-back arrangements, removal and expiry.

Buyer-side viewDo not assume that residential park-home resale rules apply. Check the holiday-lodge agreement for the permitted sale route, approval process and every transfer, agency or removal charge.

Evidence: NCC consumer guidance opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab, Business Companion: dealing with owners opens in a new tab, House of Commons Library opens in a new tab

Build a multi-year ownership budget from the park's actual charges and the agreement, allowing for fee increases, maintenance and the way you intend to use or let the lodge.

• What the site fee includes and excludes
• Rates, utilities and how metered charges are calculated
• Insurance requirements and freedom to choose a provider
• Maintenance, servicing, winterisation and exterior work
• Facility, internet and television charges
• Letting management, cleaning and owner-use restrictions
• Finance repayments where relevant
• A reserve for repairs and unexpected work

Buyer-side viewTest the annual cost in a quiet or low-letting year as well as the optimistic sales scenario. Affordability depends on the ownership pattern, not only the first year's figures.

Evidence: NCC consumer guidance opens in a new tab, Business Companion: dealing with owners opens in a new tab

The current site fee is only the starting figure. Read the review clause for the timing, calculation criteria, notice and process for questioning an increase.

Do not assume that every holiday-lodge fee is capped at inflation. For example, the NCC model agreement refers to several review criteria; that model wording is not a universal legal rule.

For fee examples, annual increases and a ten-year cost comparison, read Holiday Lodge Site Fees Explained.

Buyer-side viewPrevious increases cannot predict the future, but they can expose how the written review mechanism has operated in practice.

Evidence: Business Companion: contracts and unfair terms opens in a new tab, Business Companion: dealing with owners opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab

Read the rules against your real ownership plans, including how rules can be changed and how owners are notified.

• Pets, guests and family use
• Commercial letting and who manages it
• Business use and commercial vehicles
• Outside contractors and compulsory park services
• Decking, alterations and pitch improvements
• Appearance and maintenance standards
• Parking, storage and use of facilities
• The process for changing rules

Buyer-side viewA restriction is commercially important when it conflicts with the way you expect to use, maintain or earn from the lodge—even if it looks minor in isolation.

Evidence: Business Companion: dealing with owners opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab

Keep physical inspection separate from commercial due diligence. For a new lodge, confirm the exact specification, completion standard, warranties and defect-reporting process. For a pre-owned lodge, consider whether an independent specialist inspection is appropriate.

• Make, model, year and whether it is new, demonstrator or pre-owned
• Specification against the unit or model you viewed
• Manufacturer and appliance warranty coverage and start dates
• Who handles defects after handover
• Maintenance, repair and alteration history
• Relevant gas and electrical records
• Condition of the lodge, decking and associated structures
• Whether specialist inspection is appropriate

Buyer-side viewA commercially acceptable agreement does not establish that the lodge is physically sound. Park & Lodge does not carry out structural surveys.

Evidence: Business Companion: fair-trading law opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab

Do not assume that every holiday-lodge purchase gives you fourteen days to change your mind. Business Companion expects most park sales to be on-premises contracts, for which there is no general statutory requirement to provide a cancellation period.

Distance and off-premises contracts may carry statutory cancellation rights depending on how the transaction was negotiated and concluded. A seller may also offer an additional contractual period: the NCC model agreement includes fourteen days, but that is model wording rather than a universal right.

Establish whether any right is statutory, contractual or both before agreeing to waive or vary wording, and take legal advice where necessary.

Buyer-side viewDo not rely on what a payment is called. Read what the reservation document authorises and when the money can be retained.

Evidence: Business Companion: fair-trading law opens in a new tab, NCC model agreement opens in a new tab