Renting or buying a mobile park home

Before renting or buying a mobile park home, check that you have somewhere to park it. You’ll usually need to pay pitch fees, even if you own your home.

A mobile park home is usually a:

• caravan

• trailer

• motorhome

• prefabricated bungalow that is kept in a park

To be fit to live in, all mobile park homes must meet the safety standard BS3632.

Renting a mobile park home

To find a mobile park home, search on sites like Parkhome Living.

Check your rights if you rent a mobile park home

If you need help paying rent

You could get Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to help pay your rent and pitch fees.

To check if you can get benefits, use the Turn2Us benefits calculator.

Buying a mobile park home

Get a surveyor who specialises in mobile park homes to look over the property and the site you want to park it on. Make sure that the home has a warranty.

Get a solicitor to check over any agreement before you sign it. This includes both the terms of the purchase of a home, and the rental agreement for a pitch. Search for a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland.

Check your rights if you own a mobile park home

Where to find a home

You can buy a mobile park home that’s already pitched on a site. Search on sites like Parkhome Living.

You can also buy a home directly from a manufacturer, then find a pitch for it. Some park homes will not allow you to park your own home there.

Paying for a mobile park home

You cannot get a mortgage to pay for a mobile park home. If you get a loan, it will usually have a high interest rate.

Include the pitch fees in your budget. Unless you own your own land, you’ll usually have to pay rent to the owner of the land you park your home on.

Choosing a site for your home

Before you agree to rent a pitch, ask to see the rental agreement and the park rules. Make sure you agree with them before you sign it.

To check you can afford a pitch, ask the site owner:

• how much pitch fees are

• if you'll pay a deposit

• what the charges are for electricity, water and sewage

• how often these fees and charges increase and by how much

Check if the site is licenced

This is sometimes called a protected site. This means it has planning permission and a licence from the council. Before agreeing to rent a pitch, ask the site owner:

• for a copy of the site licence

• if the site is licenced for residential use

• what safety precautions are in place, such as in the event of a fire

• if the site is regulated by any organisations, such as the British Holiday & Home Parks Association

Check if the person who is renting you the pitch owns the site. If they are subleasing it from someone else, and their lease ends, you’ll probably have to leave.

Holiday sites are usually not licenced for residential use, which means you cannot stay there all year round.

If the site is not licenced

This is sometimes called an unprotected site.

It is risky to stay on an unprotected site permanently. You will have limited rights, and you can be evicted easily.

If you own your own land

You can park your mobile home on it. You’ll need to get planning permission and a site licence from the council.

Find your local council’s planning authority on mygov.scot