Park Home Living
Park homes for sale and rent in the UK

Step By Step Purchasing Guide

There are three ways to purchase a park home.

1.  Purchasing a home already sited on the park.

2.  Purchasing a bespoke home, designed and built to your own specification.

3.  Purchasing a previously occupied home from the outgoing resident.

Meet the park owner or manager to discuss your purchase and ask them for a copy of their Written Statement under the Mobile Homes Act 2013 and also a copy of their Park Rules. Park owners and private vendors are now legally obliged to offer you a copy of the Written Statement and a copy of the Park Rules at least 28 days prior to the sale, to allow you time to consult with a solicitor should you wish to.

At this point you should also ask for sight of the park's Site Licence issued by the Local Council. Legislation requires that the Site Licence is on permanent public view. If you cannot see the words 'residential use' on the Site Licence, then it is extremely likely that you are on a holiday park and will not be able to use this as your permanent home, even though it may have a 12 month licence. Please see our article on the Misuse of Holiday Homes on our sister holiday lodge website.

Purchasing a park home already sited on the park

If you are purchasing a home already sited on the park and you are a cash buyer, or have exchanged contracts on the sale of your existing home, you will probably be asked at this stage to sign an order form and provide a full 10% non-refundable deposit. This is quite normal, but DO NOT SIGN until you are sure in your mind, that you are happy:

(a)  with the Written Statement under the Mobile Homes Act 2013 and

(b)  you have an itemised list of what the price of your home includes, such as: shed, garage, insurance, fencing etc., and ensure that these items are listed on your invoice for any future use.

DO NOT SIGN OR GIVE a large non-refundable deposit, if you have not yet exchanged contracts or completed the sale of your previous home. 

At this point the park owner/manager may also ask you to sign a letter to say that you have read the copy of the Written Statement and the Park Rules and that you have understood their contents. If you are moving into your home within the 28 day period then you should have had these documents available to you, you may also be asked to sign a disclaimer to waive your right of the 28 days.

If it is possible to arrange a completion date with the park owner/manager, this should be done now and written on your order form.

Purchasing a bespoke home, designed and built to your own specification

Liaising with the park owner/manager is of the utmost importance to ensure a trouble free move. You may be asked for a non-refundable plot reservation deposit. This is usual within the 'bricks and mortar' industry as well. ONLY LEAVE WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE. Unfortunately, house sales do fall down and if this happens to you, or you don't find a buyer, you may lose your deposit dependent upon the terms offered to you by the park owner/manager.

Very often customers will have already been to a manufacturer’s display centre and worked out their own specification with the sales staff there. The Park Owner will need to have an estimate of costs, together with the specification to enable him/her to work out the retail price on site and this can be arranged with the manufacturer.  Always check with the Park Owner that he will accept the make of home of your choice on to his park. Once a price has been agreed and you are in a position to place your order, the previous care applies until completion and you move in to begin your new life in a park home.

Purchasing a previously occupied home from the outgoing resident

New Government Regulations came into force on 26 May 2013 in the form of The Mobile Homes (Selling and Gifting)(England) Regulations 2013. Similar regulations also came into force in Scotland on 1 September 2013.

The onus now falls upon the vendor to complete a series of forms under these regulations and you do not now need to meet or be approved of by the Park Owner. Provided you can comply with the Park Rules, for example, on an age criteria or whether you have pets or not, you cannot be stopped from purchasing a home from a resident.

Whilst the regulations may sound complicated, in fact, the forms are quite simple to fill in.

We have given a complete scenario of what needs to be done on our new website www.parkhomesforsale.co.uk - please take a look.