Caravan park for sale in the UK: what the site licence, pitch agreements and planning conditions mean for the purchase

Contents

1. What you are buying: three documents, not one
2. Reading the site licence line by line
3. Planning permission and the licence must match
4. Does the licence move with the sale?
5. Pitch agreements: the document that fixes your income

1. What you are buying: three documents, not one

Short answer: A park rests on a site licence from the council, a planning permission and a registered title. Each can cap what you run, so read all three before you value anything.

A seller will describe a park in pitches and income. The law describes it differently. A caravan site is land on which a caravan is stationed for human habitation, plus any land used with it (1960 Act s.1(4)). The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 covers England, Wales and Scotland, and it is the starting point for every park in this post, apart from the regulated Welsh sites described below.

The first rule is blunt. An occupier of land may not cause or permit any part of it to be used as a caravan site without a valid site licence (1960 Act s.1(1)). Using land without one is a summary offence, which means it is tried in the magistrates' court. In England the fine is capped at level 5 on the standard scale (s.1(2)). Check the current wording for Wales, where the text differs.

The "occupier" who needs the licence is the person entitled to possession of the land through an estate or interest. Where land of 400 square yards or less is let under a tenancy for use as a caravan site, the occupier is the person who would be entitled to possession but for the tenant's rights under that tenancy, which is the landlord side, not the tenant (s.1(3) proviso). For a buyer this means the licence follows whoever holds the right to possess the land, not whoever holds the trading company's shares.

What counts as a caravan matters for what a licence covers. A caravan is any structure designed or adapted for human habitation that can be moved from one place to another, including a motor vehicle so designed (s.29(1)). Railway rolling stock and tents are excluded. A field of tents alone is therefore not a caravan site under the Act.

Wales has a second regime for residential parks. The 1960 Act disapplies its licence requirement for a regulated site under the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 (s.1(1A)). That Welsh Act has its own site licences, conditions, breach rules, revocation rules and a fit and proper person test, set out in the Welsh contents list.

The legislation.gov.uk text of section 1 was current to 6 November 2026, with one pending Welsh amendment to section 29(4A) and (4B). Read the version in force on the day you exchange, because a pending amendment can change a Welsh park's position.

The three documents and what each can cap

The three documents must agree. A site licence can be granted only if the applicant holds planning permission for caravan use under planning law, not merely a permission granted through a development order (1960 Act s.3(3)). A licence that goes beyond the permission is an asset that can be cut back. Section 3 sets out a Court of Appeal ruling on exactly that point.

Which regime applies to the pitches you are buying

The next question is which pitches are for people to live on. Residential pitches carry rights under the Mobile Homes Act 1983. A pitch is the land forming part of a protected site, including any garden area, on which the occupier is entitled to station a mobile home (1983 Act Sch 1 Pt I para 1(4)). Holiday-only pitches are a separate group, so ask which agreements, if any, sit behind them.

In England the licensing rules draw a line between holiday-only parks and everything else. A "relevant protected site application" is any application other than one for holiday-only use, or one limited so that for part of the year no caravan may be stationed for human habitation (1960 Act s.3(7)). This label decides whether the council can charge fees and exercise discretion. Section 3 explains how.

One carve-out helps a mixed park. A year-round residential element is ignored for this test if the caravan would be occupied by the site occupier or by an employee not living there under a Mobile Homes Act 1983 agreement (s.3(8)). A warden's caravan does not by itself turn a holiday park into a protected site.

The practical decision for you is simple. Before looking at price, sort the park's pitches into three groups: holiday-only, residential with a Mobile Homes Act agreement, and the owner's or staff caravans. Ask the seller for a pitch schedule that shows each group, the agreement date and the current pitch fee for every residential pitch. Section 5 shows how to read the agreements behind that schedule.

Why the licence is not the same thing as the business

Buyers of other businesses compare turnover with price. In a caravan park the turnover can be perfectly real while the right to earn it is weak. A licence for 60 caravans supports a different business from a licence for 20. A time-limited permission supports a different business from a permanent one. The documents, not the accounts, set the ceiling.

This is why a park purchase starts with documents. An accountant can read the profit and loss. Only the licence, the permission and the agreements show whether the profit can continue after you own the land.

2. Reading the site licence line by line

Short answer: The licence is a list of council conditions, and each one limits what you can do with the land. Read the number of caravans, the occasions of stationing, the layout, the fire and sanitary conditions and any unfinished works first.

Section 5(1) of the 1960 Act lets a council attach any conditions it considers necessary or desirable, covering residents, other classes of people or the public. That is a wide power. It means two parks with the same pitch count can carry very different obligations. The conditions are in the licence itself, usually with schedules, so ask for the complete document and every schedule.

Number of caravans and occasions of stationing

The most valuable line is the cap. A condition may restrict the occasions on which caravans are stationed on the land and the total number stationed at one time (s.5(1)(a)). This is the legal basis for both pitch-number limits and seasonal limits. Your income is capped by this line whatever the ground looks like.

The section does not itself mention periods of the year. Opening-season limits therefore come from planning conditions, or from the licence condition on occasions of stationing. Read the actual wording in both documents and note any months in which no caravan may be stationed for human habitation. A park that cannot house anyone for part of the year may fall outside the residential rules described in section 1.

Illustrative figures. A park has 91 pitches on the ground and a licence that caps caravans at 85. The six pitches above the cap earn nothing lawful. At a pitch fee of 200 pounds a month, six pitches would carry 14,400 pounds a year (6 x 200 x 12). Check: 6 x 2,400 = 14,400. If you price the park on 91 pitches, you pay for income the licence does not support.

The cap is not fixed for ever. The point for you is that the number on the licence on exchange day is the number you can plan on. Ask for the licence history showing each change and the date it took effect.

What to request and what it proves

Write to the council licensing team with one request: a copy of the current licence record for the park, including every schedule and every alteration notice. Compare it page by page with the copy in the seller's file.

3. Planning permission and the licence must match

Short answer: A licence rests on planning permission, so a licence can be cut back to what the permission and any enforcement outcome allow. Read the permission, any time limit, any certificate of lawfulness and the council's enforcement file before you trust the licence number.

Why a licence cannot outrun the permission

Section 3(3) of the 1960 Act lets the council issue a licence only if the applicant holds planning permission for caravan use. That tie works in both directions. A council that finds the permission narrower than the licence has a reason to alter or refuse the licence at the next application. You then own a park whose lawful size is smaller than the one you paid for.

The timing rules show how closely the two documents are linked. Where the applicant already holds permission, the authority shall issue the licence within two months of receiving the information it asked for, or a longer period agreed in writing (s.3(4)). Where permission comes after the application, the licence must follow within six weeks of obtaining it, or a longer agreed period (s.3(5)).

Illustrative figures. A council receives a complete licence application on 3 March. Two months later is 3 May. Permission is granted on 10 June, after the application. Six weeks, or 42 days, from 10 June is 22 July (20 days to 30 June, then 22 more). Check: 20 + 22 = 42. These dates matter if you are buying on the strength of a licence still to be issued.

In England the word "shall" softens to "may" where the council is considering a relevant protected site application, the residential category described in section 1. For those parks the council holds a discretion, and it may charge a fee for the application (s.3(4) and s.3(5A) to (5F)). A buyer who relies on the two-month rule for a residential park is relying on a rule that may not bind the council.

The Haytop ruling: when the licence promises more than the permission

In Haytop Country Park Limited v Amber Valley Borough Council the Court of Appeal gave judgment on 12 November 2025 ([2025] EWCA Civ 1442). It asked whether a site licence can authorise pitches that sit outside the planning permissions it relies on, or that are subject to an enforcement notice on unlawful operational development.

The history shows what a licence record can hide. Planning permissions of 1952 and 1966 allowed up to 60 caravans, and a 1968 site licence imposed a 60-caravan limit. By April 2022 the licence in force allowed three caravans. The First-tier Tribunal raised the figure to 18 plots when the park had asked for 36. The Upper Tribunal then set the total at six, adding three pitches to the three already licensed.

The unlawful works behind the dispute were substantial: 121 trees felled and 27 hardstandings laid. A certificate of lawfulness covered 30 permanent and 30 holiday static caravans, but it did not certify the layout. The park argued that the licence could go beyond the planning position, and the Court of Appeal rejected that argument, applying the harmony principle: the licence must be consistent with the planning permission and with the enforcement outcome.

The Court held that the licence decision had to be made consistently with the decision on the enforcement notice appeal. The licence should not have approved any plots subject to the enforcement notice, except those needing no action under it (para 115). The decision also had to take into account the terms of the 1952 and 1966 permissions (para 116), and the First-tier Tribunal erred in treating the enforcement notices as irrelevant to site licensing (para 117).

For a buyer the lesson is arithmetic. A history that shows 60 caravans permitted decades ago did not secure 60 for the park. The gap between the old limit and the final total was 54 (60 minus 6). Check: 60 - 54 = 6. Ask for the planning file and the council's enforcement register entry for the site, not only the licence.

If you want to see how a court or tribunal result is set out for a buyer, the sample report shows each finding with the record behind it.

4. Does the licence move with the sale?

Short answer: Not automatically. A licence holder who stops occupying the land can transfer the licence only with the council's consent, or you can apply for a new licence in your own name. Until the council has consented to the transfer or issued a licence in your name, you may be using land without a valid licence.

The Wyldecrest ruling: a new licence, not a transfer

The route the council takes decides which appeal you have. In Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd v North Northamptonshire Council the Upper Tribunal (UT Judge Elizabeth Cooke, 15 November 2024) ruled on a document issued on 20 April 2023 for Wilby Park. The question was whether it was a transferred licence or a newly granted one ([2024] UKUT 360 (LC)). That answer decided whether the appeal lay under section 7 or section 8 of the 1960 Act.

The Tribunal held there was no possible reading of the document except as a new licence. It could not be read as the licence previously issued to the earlier operator, and a different reference number counted against treating it as a transfer (paras 37 and 38). It set aside the First-tier Tribunal's strike-out and reinstated the appeal against the conditions on the new licence (para 40).

Two points follow for a buyer. First, a new owner given a new licence may challenge its conditions under section 7 of the 1960 Act. Second, the Tribunal said the failure to follow section 10 of the 1960 Act was not an omission that could be rectified (para 38). It also criticised a procedural objection that the council first raised on the second day of the hearing (para 34).

Illustrative figures. The Wilby appeal was lodged on 18 May 2023 against a licence issued on 20 April 2023. The 28 days of section 7 of the 1960 Act run from issue. From 20 April, 10 days reach 30 April and 18 more reach 18 May. Check: 10 + 18 = 28. The appeal was therefore in time. A buyer who misses that window loses the section 7 appeal route for those conditions.

Make the sale conditional on the council

The documents point to one decision. Do not rely on the seller's word that "the licence goes with the park". Ask for the council's written consent to transfer, or for a new licence in your name, before you complete. Ask your conveyancer one question: can completion be made conditional on the council's written consent or on issue of a licence in my name, and what happens to the deposit if the council refuses?

5. Pitch agreements: the document that fixes your income

Short answer: On a residential park, each pitch agreement fixes the pitch fee rules, and the fee can change only by agreement or by tribunal order. A review notice without the right document attached has no effect, and it can bring a refund order.

The annual review step by step

The owner reviews the pitch fee each year. The owner must serve written proposals at least 28 clear days before the review date (para 17). The proposal has no effect unless it comes with the document required by paragraph 25A (paras 17 and 25A). A "clear" day excludes the day of service and the day of the review.

Illustrative figures. The review date is 1 April. Count back 28 clear days. A proposal served on 3 March leaves the days from 4 March to 31 March clear, which is 28 days. A proposal served on 4 March leaves 27 and falls short. Read paragraph 17 for what late service does before you rely on a notice served close to the date.

If the occupier does not agree in England, either party must apply to the appropriate judicial body no later than three months after the review date. Late applications may be allowed for good reasons (para 17(9A)). For a 1 April review the three months end on 1 July. Until a new fee is agreed or ordered, the occupier keeps paying the current fee and is not in arrears until the 28th day after agreement or order.

How much can the fee change

Paragraph 20(A1) presumes that a pitch fee changes by no more than the percentage change in the consumer prices index over the previous 12 months, unless that would be unreasonable. In reviewing a pitch fee, regard is had to improvements the occupiers were consulted on, any deterioration in the site or its services, and new legislation (para 18).

Some costs cannot be passed on. When setting a pitch fee the owner cannot count the costs of expanding the site, the costs of proceedings under the Act, certain licensing fees or local authority enforcement costs under the 1960 Act (para 19). A buyer who plans to add pitches or fight the council cannot recover those costs through the existing residents' fees.

Illustrative figures. 60 residential pitches pay 200 pounds a month, which is 144,000 pounds a year. The index rose 3.0 percent over the previous 12 months. The presumed increase is 6 pounds a month a pitch. Annual extra income is 4,320 pounds (6 x 60 x 12), and income becomes 148,320 pounds. Check: 144,000 + 4,320 = 148,320.

When a review notice fails

A tribunal may order repayment of amounts paid under an increase notice that was ineffective because it lacked the paragraph 25A document (para 17(11) and (12)). The exposure is real money for the buyer. Illustrative figures. If the 6-pound increase above was demanded for 12 months on a defective notice, the refund is 4,320 pounds across 60 pitches. Check: 6 x 60 x 12 = 4,320.

The question for the seller therefore has a precise form. For each of the last three review years, ask for the written proposal, the paragraph 25A document served with it, proof of the date of service and any application to the tribunal. A seller with an incomplete set of notices has pitch income that a tribunal can take back.

Ask a solicitor who handles park home disputes one question. Did each pitch fee notice served in the last three review years meet paragraph 17 and come with the paragraph 25A document? And what is the refund exposure if any did not?

Arrears, missing addresses and who owes what

Pitch fee arrears are harder to prove than a rent roll suggests. The occupier is not in arrears until the 28th day after a new fee is agreed or ordered, and keeps paying the old fee in the meantime (para 17(4)). A seller's arrears schedule that counts the unpaid part of a disputed increase counts money that is not yet due.

A second trap is the owner's own contact details. If the owner has not given the occupier the required name and address, amounts otherwise due are treated as not due until the owner does so. A demand that lacks the required owner details is treated the same way (paras 26(2) and 27(2)). A park that changed hands without telling residents who the new owner is can therefore have a gap in lawful demands.

Illustrative figures. A park lists 9,600 pounds of pitch fee arrears across 20 pitches, which is 480 pounds each. Of that, 20 pitches each withheld 6 pounds a month for 8 months, which is 960 pounds (20 x 6 x 8). Check: 20 x 48 = 960. The 960 pounds belongs to a disputed increase and is not yet due, so the arrears that can be demanded are 8,640 pounds (9,600 - 960).

The occupier has duties too. The occupier must pay the pitch fee and the cost of services the owner supplies. The occupier must keep the home in a sound state of repair and keep the outside of the home and the pitch clean and tidy. On request the occupier must give documentary evidence of costs for which reimbursement is sought (para 21). Ask the seller for the file of breach notices sent under those duties in the last three years.

Sources

All pages retrieved 2026-11-06.

• Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 1: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62/section/1
• Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 3: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62/section/3
• Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 5: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62/section/5
• Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 7: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62/section/7
• Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 10: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62/section/10
• Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, section 29: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62/section/29
• Mobile Homes Act 1983, Schedule 1 Part I: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/34/schedule/1/part/I
• Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013, contents: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2013/6/contents
• Haytop Country Park Limited v Amber Valley Borough Council [2025] EWCA Civ 1442: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2025/1442
• Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd v North Northamptonshire Council [2024] UKUT 360 (LC): https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukut/lc/2024/360