If you mention park homes in conversation, most people picture the same thing: a flimsy caravan on a windswept field, somewhere you’d go for a week in August, not somewhere you’d actually live. That image is about 30 years out of date. Here are five things most people get wrong, and what the facts actually say.
1. “They’re Just Caravans”
This is the big one. Legally, residential park homes are classified as caravans under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, which is where the confusion starts. But the word “caravan” in law covers any structure that can be transported in no more than two sections, regardless of size or quality. In practice, a modern residential park home can measure up to 65 feet by 22 feet, roughly 1,400 square feet of living space. That’s bigger than a lot of two-bedroom flats and many terraced houses.
They’re built to BS 3632, the British Standard for residential park homes, which sets minimum requirements for insulation, ventilation, structural strength and energy efficiency. The 2023 update to the standard raised the bar further, with improved U-values and provisions for renewable energy systems. These aren’t holiday caravans with thin walls.
Modern residential park homes are purpose-built, well-insulated properties with full-size kitchens, en-suite bathrooms, underfloor heating and open-plan living spaces that would hold their own against plenty of new-build houses. But the stigma persists, partly because “park home” covers a huge quality range, from dated 1980s stock on poorly managed sites to luxury park bungalow homes on landscaped developments with show-home finishes. First impressions depend entirely on which end of that spectrum someone has seen
2. “You’ve Got No Security and Can Be Kicked Out”
This is probably the most damaging myth. The Mobile Homes Act 1983, strengthened significantly by the 2013 amendment, gives residential park home owners strong legal protections. You have security of tenure, meaning you can stay on your pitch for as long as you like, provided you follow the site rules and pay your pitch fees (or site fees). A site owner cannot evict you without a court order, and the grounds for obtaining one are very limited.
You also have the right to sell your home on the open market. The 2013 amendment removed the site owner’s previous right to approve buyers, which was a significant change. The site owner can charge a commission of up to 10% on the sale price, but they can’t block or interfere with the sale itself. You can gift or bequeath the home to a family member too. These aren’t vague promises. They’re statutory rights backed by legislation.
3. “It’s Only for People Who Can’t Afford a Proper House”
Average prices for new residential park homes in the UK currently range from around £150,000 to £350,000 or more, depending on location, size and specification. That’s not cheap, and it’s certainly not a last resort. What it is, in many cases, is a deliberate financial decision.
Consider what that money buys in the traditional housing market. In the south of England, £250,000 might get you a one-bedroom flat in a town centre. On a residential park in the same county, the same budget could buy a two-bedroom bungalow with a private garden, modern kitchen and no stamp duty to pay on top.
Many buyers are downsizers who’ve sold a larger family home, freed up six figures of equity and chosen a park home because it gives them a better quality of life with lower running costs, not because they couldn’t afford anything else.
4. “They Lose Value Like a Car”
This one’s more complicated. Park homes don’t appreciate in the same way as freehold bricks-and-mortar property, and it’s fair to say that. You own the home but rent the pitch it sits on, and that ownership structure means the dynamics are different.
However, the idea that they drop in value the moment you move in isn’t accurate either. Well-maintained homes on well-managed sites in desirable locations can and do hold their value. Some sell for around, or even more than, the original purchase price, depending on the market.
It’s less like a car depreciating off the forecourt and more like any other asset: location, condition and management quality all matter. The key difference is that most park home buyers aren’t treating the purchase as a financial investment in the first place. They’re buying a lifestyle, and they’re using the equity freed up from their previous home to fund it.
5. “The Sites Are Poorly Run and Unregulated”
There have been well-publicised cases of badly managed park home sites, and those stories stick in the public memory. But the regulatory picture has changed substantially. All residential park sites must hold a licence from the local authority.
The Mobile Homes Act 2013 introduced a fit-and-proper person test for site owners, giving councils the power to refuse or revoke licences from operators who don’t meet the standard.
Pitch fee increases are now regulated and linked to the Consumer Prices Index under the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023. Residents can challenge any increase they believe is unfair through the First-tier Tribunal. And modern developments, particularly those built by established operators like Regency Living, bear little resemblance to the poorly maintained sites that generated the bad press. Landscaped grounds, community spaces and professional on-site management are standard on well-run parks.
The Gap Between Image and Evidence
Park homes aren’t for everyone. The ownership model is different, the resale process has its quirks, and the sector still has its share of older, lower-quality stock. But the gap between public perception and current reality is wider than almost any other part of the housing market. If your mental image is still a tin box in a field, you might want to update that picture. The modern version might surprise you.
