Is a Park Bungalow Considered a Permanent Residence for Legal Purposes?

Every park in England and Wales needs a site licence from the local council under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, alongside planning permission for the land itself. The licence sets out what the site can be used for. A residential licence permits year-round occupation as someone's main home, while a holiday licence doesn't, no matter how spacious the homes on it might look.

When a park holds a residential licence and the matching planning permission, the law treats it as a protected site. That single classification unlocks all the legal protections covered below. The licence must be displayed somewhere obvious in the park, so you can check it yourself before committing to anything.

Licensing is only part of the picture, though. There are also planning restrictions that apply to Park Bungalow developments, covering everything from spacing between homes to what residents can change once they've moved in.

Living on a protected site brings you under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, the main piece of legislation for Park Bungalow residents. It gives you security of tenure, which means the site owner can't evict you without a court order and can only seek one on limited grounds, such as a breach of the agreement that hasn't been put right after a formal notice. You'll also have the right to sell your home on the open market or gift it to a family member, and since the law changed in 2013, the site owner no longer gets to approve your buyer.

Before you sign anything, the site owner must give you a written statement setting out the terms of your agreement at least 28 days in advance. Read it carefully, because those terms will apply whether or not you fully understood them at the time.

One condition runs through all of this: the home must be your only or main residence. You can't buy a Park Bungalow on a residential park as a weekend bolthole or a rental investment.

Here's where Park Bungalow ownership differs from bricks and mortar. You buy the home outright, but the land underneath belongs to the park operator. In return for keeping your home on the pitch, you'll pay a regular pitch fee, sometimes called a site fee.

That fee can't change on a whim. Reviews happen once a year, and since the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023, increases in England are pegged to the Consumer Prices Index instead of the higher RPI measure used before. The site owner must serve a formal review notice, and if you disagree with the figure, you can challenge it at a tribunal. We've covered the process in more detail in our guide to whether a park owner can increase your site fee without notice.

One more difference: because a Park Bungalow is legally a mobile home instead of a registered property, you can't buy one with a standard mortgage. Most buyers fund the purchase with the proceeds from selling a previous house.

In day-to-day life, a residential Park Bungalow works exactly like any other permanent address. You'll pay council tax directly to your local authority, and most Park Bungalows fall into Band A, the lowest band. You can register on the electoral roll, update your driving licence, receive post and use the address for your bank, pension and insurance without any special arrangements.

You'll still pay for utilities in the usual way too, though on some parks certain services are billed through the site owner. In any case, running costs tend to come in lower than a traditional house of a similar standard.

🏡 Learn more: Cost of Living in a Park Home Community: What to Expect

This is where people get caught out. A lodge or static caravan on a holiday-licensed park can never be a permanent residence, no matter how comfortable it is. Many holiday parks close for several weeks a year, and the agreements make clear you must have a main address elsewhere.

Anyone quietly living full time on a holiday park risks enforcement action from the council and won't have the protections of the Mobile Homes Act. If a home seems suspiciously cheap for year-round living, the licence is usually the reason. Always ask which licence the park holds and ask to see it.

Before you go ahead, confirm three things.

• First, that the park holds a residential site licence and planning permission for permanent occupation.
• Second, that you've received the written statement 28 days before signing.
• Third, that you understand the pitch fee, what it covers and when it's reviewed.

The process is far simpler than a conventional house purchase, with no stamp duty, no chain and no Land Registry paperwork. Plenty of buyers still like a second pair of eyes on the agreement, and we've written extensively about whether you need a solicitor to buy a Park Bungalow to help you decide. Get those checks right and your Park Bungalow will be your permanent residence in every sense that matters, in the eyes of the law and in daily life.