This content applies to Scotland only.

Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. Get advice relating to England

Unless you have your own land, you will need to rent a pitch on a site to station your mobile home. Your rights will depend on whether you rent a pitch on a protected site or an unprotected site.

A protected site has planning permission and a site licence from the council. The page on mobile homes and sites explains more.

Your rights if you live on a protected site

If you live in a mobile home on a protected site, you will have certain rights under the Caravan Sites Act 1968. These rights relate to your occupation of a pitch, and apply to all mobile home occupiers, whether you own or rent your mobile home:

• You should have a residential contract with the site owner. This is an agreement which entitles you to live in the mobile home on the site. This contract does not need to be in writing: if the site owner has given you permission to occupy a mobile home on the site and accepts rent from you, a contract exists. In practice, few people who live in mobile homes are given written agreements.
• You will have more protection against eviction, and may be able to get an eviction order suspended by the court. Find out more in the section on eviction.
• The site owner must comply with the terms of the site licence, which includes maintaining safety and amenity standards laid down by the council. Find out more in the section on park conditions.

In addition, you will also have some tenancy rights under the common law. Read the page on common law tenancy rights to find out more.

If you own your mobile home and live on a protected site, you will have more rights. Read the page on owning a mobile home to find out more.

Do I have any rights if I live on an unprotected site?

If you live on an unprotected site, you will have very few rights. You may live on an unprotected site if your mobile home or caravan is situated:

• on a holiday site
• in someone's garden
• on a farm
• on land owned by your employer
• on land used by travelling showpeople.

However, most people who rent a mobile home or mobile home pitch have common law tenancy rights. Alongside other rights, these state that you can't be evicted without a court order.

If you are being threatened with eviction from your mobile home or from the pitch you rent it on, get advice from a Shelter advice centre or Citizens Advice  immediately. You can find your nearest agency using the Advice Services Directory.

What if I own my mobile home but live on an unprotected site?

The rights outlined on the page on owning your mobile home only apply if you live on a protected site. If you own a mobile home that is situated on an unprotected site:

• you do not have the right to a written statement
• there are no laws controlling how often and by how much the site owner can increase your pitch fees
• you won't necessarily have the right to sell your mobile home to anyone else on the basis that it can remain on the site.

If you are having problems with any of these situations, get advice from a Shelter advice centre or Citizens Advice.

Caravan holiday sites

If you buy a caravan on a holiday site and the site owner is a member of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BH&HPA) or the National Caravan Council (NCC) you should have additional rights:

• You should be given a written agreement allowing you to live in the caravan for five years. At the end of the five years, the agreement can be renewed for another five years, provided you have kept the caravan in good condition and have stuck to the terms of the agreement.
• You will have the right to sell the caravan, although you must offer it to the site owner first. The site owner is entitled to 15 per cent commission on the sale price.
• You will also have the right to ask an arbiter to resolve pitch fee disputes and other complaints.