Haven site fees are the regular charges you pay to keep your caravan or lodge on a pitch at a Haven park. They are separate from the purchase price and are paid throughout your ownership. The exact amount and what it covers will depend on your individual licence agreement.
This guide explains what site fees typically include, how annual increases work, what to do if you have a concern, and how to raise a complaint with Haven directly.
Please note: Holiday caravans and lodges sit on licence agreements. They are not covered by the Mobile Homes Act 1983, which applies only to residential park homes. This is an important legal distinction that affects your rights as an owner.
What Haven site fees actually cover
A site fee (sometimes called a pitch fee) is the charge you pay to occupy your pitch on the park. Think of it as a rental fee for the ground your caravan or lodge sits on. It is usually charged annually or in instalments, and it is a condition of your licence agreement.
What is typically included
The exact list varies from park to park and is set out in your individual licence agreement. Common inclusions are:
- Pitch occupation: the right to keep your unit on that specific pitch
- Park maintenance: upkeep of shared grounds, paths, and communal areas
- Refuse collection: removal of household waste from the park
- Security: on-site security patrols or CCTV monitoring
- Park facilities: access to shared amenities such as swimming pools, entertainment venues, and play areas
- Rates contribution: A proportion of the business rates the park operator pays
What is typically not included
Site fees rarely cover everything. Owners should check their licence agreement carefully for costs that sit outside the site fee, which may include:
- Utility charges (gas, electricity, and water are often metered and billed separately)
- Maintenance of the unit itself (repairs and upkeep of your caravan or lodge are your responsibility)
- Pitch-specific upgrades (decking, fencing, or landscaping around your pitch)
- Seasonal or event charges that may apply at certain parks
The key point: if a cost is not listed in your licence agreement as part of the site fee, you should expect to pay it on top. Always ask for a full written breakdown of all ongoing costs before you commit to ownership.
Fee increases and what owners report
Site fees are not fixed forever. Park operators typically review fees on an annual basis, and your licence agreement will set out the process they must follow.
How annual reviews usually work
Most licence agreements allow the park operator to increase site fees once a year. The agreement should state:
- How much notice you must be given before a new fee takes effect (commonly a set number of weeks or months)
- What basis the increase can be made on (for example, whether it is linked to a published index such as the Retail Price Index, or at the operator's discretion)
- How you will be notified (usually in writing, by post or email)
If your agreement is silent on the notice period or the method of calculation, that is worth querying in writing with the park operator.
What to do if an increase is unclear
If you receive a notice of a fee increase and you are not sure how it has been calculated, it is reasonable to ask for a written explanation. A reasonable request would include:
- A breakdown of what the new fee covers
- The reason for the increase
- Confirmation of how the increase was calculated
Keep a copy of every letter or email you send and receive. If the operator cannot explain the increase clearly, it may be worth seeking independent advice before you agree to pay the new amount.
Worth knowing: Because holiday caravan and lodge ownership sits outside the Mobile Homes Act 1983, there is no statutory cap or formula that automatically limits fee increases for holiday owners. Your protection comes from the terms of your individual licence agreement.
Pitch fees vs site fees: what is the difference?
The terms "pitch fee" and "site fee" are often used interchangeably in the holiday park industry, and in most cases they refer to the same charge. However, the terminology can vary between operators and between different types of ownership.
Holiday parks vs residential parks
It helps to understand the two main contexts in which these terms appear:
- Site fee. Context: Most commonly used in holiday caravan and lodge ownership; Legal framework: Licence agreement between you and the park operator
- Pitch fee. Context: Used in both holiday and residential settings; the legally defined term for residential park homes; Legal framework: Mobile Homes Act 1983 (residential only)
For holiday caravan and lodge owners at Haven, the charge for occupying your pitch is a contractual matter governed by your licence agreement. The Mobile Homes Act 1983 does not apply to holiday ownership, so the statutory pitch fee review process that protects residential park home owners is not available to you.
Why this distinction matters
If you are a holiday owner and you see references online to "pitch fee dispute" processes or statutory review rights, check carefully whether that guidance applies to residential park homes rather than holiday caravans. The two types of ownership have very different legal protections, and applying residential rules to a holiday licence agreement is not correct.
If you are unsure which category your ownership falls into, check your original purchase documents and licence agreement. Residential park homes are typically your main or only home; holiday caravans and lodges are for holiday use and usually come with restrictions on permanent residence.
How to raise a complaint with Haven
If you have a concern about your site fees, a fee increase, or any other aspect of your ownership, there is a clear process you can follow. Working through the official route first gives you a record of the steps you have taken, which is useful if the matter goes further.
Step 1: Raise it with the park directly
Start by speaking to the park manager or owner services team at your Haven park. Explain your concern clearly and ask for a response in writing. If you raise it verbally first, follow up with a short email or letter confirming what was discussed and what you were told.
Step 2: Put it in writing
If your concern is not resolved informally, write a formal complaint. Your letter or email should include:
- Your name, address, and ownership details (pitch number, unit make and model)
- A clear description of your concern
- The outcome you are asking for
- A reasonable deadline for a response
Send it to Haven's customer services team. Haven's contact details are available on their official website at haven.com. Keep a copy of everything you send.
Step 3: Escalate within Haven
If the park does not resolve your concern, ask for it to be escalated to Haven's head office or a senior manager, and ask for a final written response setting out their position. Your licence agreement may set out a complaints procedure, so it is worth checking what it says.
Step 4: Options if the complaint is not resolved
Unlike financial services, holiday park ownership is not covered by an ombudsman scheme, so there is no single body that can rule on your complaint. Options that may be open to you include:
- Citizens Advice consumer service: Free, independent guidance on your consumer rights. Reports made to the consumer service are passed to Trading Standards.
- Trading Standards: If you believe you were given misleading information when you bought.
- Independent legal advice: If the dispute is about the terms of your agreement. Contractual disputes are ultimately a matter for the courts.
- An alternative dispute resolution scheme: But only if the park takes part in one. Participation is voluntary in this sector, so check whether the park subscribes to a scheme before relying on it.
Note for residential park home owners: If your home is a residential park home on a protected site, disputes about pitch fees can be taken to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). This route is not available to holiday caravan and lodge owners.
Keeping records throughout
Good record-keeping is essential at every stage. Keep:
- Copies of all letters, emails, and text messages
- Notes of any phone calls (date, time, who you spoke to, what was said)
- Your original licence agreement and any documents you were given at the point of sale
- All fee notices and invoices
These records will support your position if the complaint needs to go to an external body.
What owners tell us
Park Home Claim works with owners of holiday caravans and lodges across the UK. Without attributing comments to any individual, some common themes come up regularly.
Costs that differed from expectations
Some owners say the total cost of ownership was not what they expected when they bought. The purchase price is only one part of the picture. Ongoing site fees, utility charges, and other costs can add up over time, and some owners say these were not made fully clear to them at the point of sale.
Difficulty selling
Some owners find that selling their caravan or lodge is harder than they anticipated. Restrictions on who can buy, requirements to use the park operator's own sales process, and the way the unit's value changes over time are all areas where owners have said they received less information than they needed.
Pressure to upgrade
Some owners report being encouraged to upgrade to a newer unit sooner than they had planned. In some cases, owners say they were told their existing unit would need to be replaced, or that the park would not renew their licence unless they upgraded. This can create unexpected financial pressure.
These are reported experiences, not findings of fact against any named operator. If any of these themes match your own situation, it may be worth reviewing the documents you were given at the point of sale.
When a cost problem might become a claim
Not every unexpected cost is grounds for a claim. However, if you believe you were given inaccurate or incomplete information about costs at the point of sale, it may be worth looking into further.
Situations that owners sometimes bring to us include:
- Being told the site fee would remain stable, when it has increased significantly
- Not being informed about utility charges or other costs that sit outside the site fee
- Being given verbal assurances about resale value or ease of selling that did not match reality
- Feeling pressured into upgrading or purchasing additional products
If any of these apply to you, a free, no-obligation check is a good starting point. Find out whether you may have been mis-sold your holiday caravan or lodge. There is no cost to check, and no obligation to proceed.
Please note: Park Home Claim is a claims assistance and document collation business. We work with independent SRA-regulated solicitors, but we are not a law firm and we do not provide legal or financial advice. Whether a claim can be pursued is a matter for the solicitors we work with to assess.
Haven is a major operator within the UK holiday park sector. Its inclusion does not imply wrongdoing in any individual case.
Park Home Claim is a claims assistance and document collation business. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Where a matter requires legal assessment it is referred to independent SRA-regulated solicitors.