The holiday home viewing checklist

The annual money

The pitch fee is only the start. Get every figure in writing for the exact pitch, not the park's cheapest example.

• What is the current annual site fee for this exact pitch, and precisely what does it include?
• How much have site fees risen in each of the last three years, and how are increases decided and notified?
• Are rates, water, drainage, Wi-Fi or facility passes billed on top of the site fee, and what did a typical owner pay last year in total?
• How are utilities metered and priced: electricity, gas bottles or piped gas, and who supplies them?
• Is park-arranged insurance compulsory, or can you use your own insurer, and what cover level is required?

The licence and the holiday home

The licence agreement decides what you actually own and for how long. Read it before you fall for the view.

• How long is the licence or tenure for this unit on this pitch, in years, from today?
• Is there an age limit for the holiday home, and what is the replacement or removal policy when it is reached?
• Does the licence transfer to a buyer if you sell, and can the park refuse a transfer?
• What are the charges for siting, connection, disconnection, transport or removal of the unit, now and on exit?
• If anything promised today is not in the written agreement, will the park put it in writing before you pay?

Using it

• What are the exact opening dates of the season, and is the park closed for any period each year?
• Is the park holiday use only, and what are the occupancy rules: maximum consecutive nights, main-residence restrictions, council tax position?
• What are the park rules on dogs, visitors, parking, decking, sheds and quiet hours, and can you have a printed copy?
• Who handles maintenance and grounds work, and which repairs are the owner's responsibility?

Subletting and letting

If you plan to offset costs by letting, the park's rules matter more than any income projection.

• Is subletting or holiday letting permitted at all on this park, and on this pitch?
• If the park runs a letting scheme, what commission and charges apply, and who sets the rental prices?
• Are there weeks you are required to make the unit available, or restrictions on advertising it yourself?
• Who is responsible for cleaning, damage and guest disputes under each arrangement?

Selling and leaving

• If you sell, must the sale go through the park, and what commission or transfer fee applies?
• Can you sell privately, and can the buyer keep the holiday home on the same pitch and licence?
• What happens if you simply want to leave: notice period, disconnection cost, and will the park offer to buy the unit back?
• Are there any circumstances in which the park can end the agreement, and what compensation applies?

The park and the pitch

• Has the park or this part of it flooded, and is the pitch in a flood-risk or coastal-erosion area?
• What is the park's planning status and how long is the park's own site licence?
• Is the park residentially occupied anywhere on site, and how is that separated from holiday areas?
• Who owns the park, how long have they run it, and has ownership changed recently?
• What are the roads and access like in winter, and is the park reachable in the months you would actually visit?

Before you pay a deposit

• If buying with finance, what is the deposit, the term, the total repayable and the APR, and is there an early-settlement charge?
• Ask for every verbal promise in writing: fee freezes, included decking, letting income projections, upgrade offers.
• Take a copy of the licence agreement, park rules and the last written fee statement away to read at home.
• Speak to existing owners away from the sales office about fees, increases and how the park is run.
• Sleep on it. A park that will not hold an offer for 48 hours is telling you something.