Before buying a holiday lodge, check the permitted use, who you are buying from, the complete price, every document and promise, the licence and exit terms, ongoing costs, site-fee reviews, park rules, physical condition and cancellation arrangements.
Use this as a working checklist for the lodge and pitch you are considering. Open the question lists, record the source of each answer and keep unresolved points visible. Use the document request below to ask for the paperwork, then compare it with the offer and your plans.
Confirm the permitted use
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.
Considering a park with a 12-month season? Check what all-year opening actually permits before relying on it.
Questions to ask 6 questions
- What do the planning permission and site licence say about holiday use?
- On exactly which dates can owners use their lodges?
- Does the agreement prohibit use as a main residence or require evidence of another address?
- Can family members and guests use the lodge without you?
- Is commercial letting allowed, and must it go through the park?
- Do the agreement or park rules restrict business use or regular working from the lodge?
Identify who you are actually buying from
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.
Comparing offers? Read buying from a park vs a private resale to check the seller, incoming pitch rights and complete costs.
Questions to ask 5 questions
- What is the seller's full legal name, and are they a trader or private owner?
- Who will receive the reservation payment, deposit and purchase balance?
- Which legal entity will grant the pitch licence?
- Who is responsible for warranties and aftersales problems?
- For a private resale, has the park approved the process and what agreement will the buyer receive?
Understand the complete purchase price
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.
Purchase costs
- Lodge and VAT
- Delivery, siting and connections
- Decking, furniture and compulsory initial charges
Ongoing costs
- Site fees, rates and utilities
- Insurance and maintenance
- Letting, facilities and finance where relevant
Exit costs
- Transfer or agency charges
- Disconnection, removal and transport
- Outstanding fees, repairs or reinstatement
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
For advertised examples and help comparing complete packages, read our guide to how much a holiday lodge costs to buy.
Read the paperwork and get promises in writing
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
Questions to ask 6 questions
- Have you received every document before being asked to commit?
- Do the names, dates, prices, lodge details and pitch details agree?
- Are the agreement start and end dates completed?
- Which promises are influencing your decision, and who made them?
- Are those promises reflected in the agreement or confirmed clearly in writing?
- Will you receive a complete signed copy of every binding document?
Understand the licence term and your exit position
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.
Questions to ask 7 questions
- When does the agreement start, when does it end and how much time remains?
- What agreement term would a future buyer receive?
- Is renewal guaranteed, discretionary or not offered at all?
- Can the lodge be sold on the pitch, to the park or for removal?
- What approval process and transfer, agency or removal charges apply?
- Is there a buy-back arrangement and how would the price be calculated?
- What happens at expiry, and who pays for disconnection and removal?
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
For how the agreement and sale route affect modelled resale, read Holiday Lodge Depreciation Explained.
For term, renewal, park rules and fee-review clauses, read Holiday Lodge Licence Agreements Explained.
Calculate realistic ongoing costs
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
Understand how site fees can increase
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.
Questions to ask 6 questions
- What is the current fee and exactly what does it include?
- When is it reviewed and what formula, index or criteria are used?
- Can the park show previous increases for this or comparable pitches?
- What notice must the park give before a change?
- How can an owner question or dispute an increase?
- What must be paid while an increase is being questioned?
Check the park rules and restrictions
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
Check the lodge condition, specification and warranty
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
Understand reservation, cancellation and cooling-off rights
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.
Questions to ask 6 questions
- Is the reservation payment refundable, and in what circumstances?
- Is it deducted from the price and what does it authorise the park to spend or do?
- When does the payment become non-refundable?
- What happens if you do not approve the full documents or legal advice raises a serious issue?
- Is any cooling-off right statutory, contractual or both?
- What deadline and cancellation method apply, and has anyone asked you to waive or vary them?
A lower price does not resolve every problem. See our fictional Deal Assessment example to understand why a £4,000 reduction can still leave a purchase on HOLD.
Source Material
Sources
- Business Companion holiday parks guidance Opens in a new tab
- House of Commons Library: Rights of residential and holiday mobile home owners Opens in a new tab
- NCC consumer guidance: Questions and answers before buying a holiday caravan or lodge Opens in a new tab
- NCC model Combined Purchase and Licence Agreement Opens in a new tab
- Companies House: Get information about a company Opens in a new tab