A guide to park home licencing laws

In 2013, the Mobile Homes Act came into force, bringing with it important changes in how park home sites are run and managed. The main changes relate to the licencing of park homes. This is important for both site owners and the owners of the park homes.

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Park home sites

Any privately owned land where there park homes are occupied for either some or all of the year needs to have the relevant planning permission and licences from the right local council. Owners of park homes must ensure that the site owner they are dealing with has the correct permissions, especially if they are planning on living at the site year-round. The consequences of not having a licence that allows residents to live at a site year-round can be severe.
Site owners should display their licence somewhere prominent, and owners can also contact the relevant local authority to see details of a licence.

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Licencing laws

Local councils can check up on sites to ensure they are abiding by their licence. If they feel that site owners are not operating as they should, hefty fines can be handed out. While site owners are responsible for paying these, there are still implications for those living at the site.
Some sites are mixed use, which means they have homes that can be occupied all year or just at certain times. Other sites will allow properties to count as a person’s main residence. For example, if you were looking to at park homes for sale in Gloucestershire and wanted to live in one all year-round, you would need to check that the site owner had the right planning and permission and licencing to allow this. Sites like https://www.parkhomelife.com/ have lots of useful information on this topic.
It is worth keeping in mind that most well-run sites will have the correct permissions in place, but it is always good to be cautious. No reputable site owner will mind being asked where they display their licence. Owners should not worry that they will need to move or sell up, as the authorities will be looking to ensure their rights are protected. However, by checking that a site owner is above board right from the start, park home owners can save themselves potential stress.