There is no law that sets an age limit for a static caravan or holiday lodge on a holiday park. Any limit comes from your park's licence agreement or park rules. Each park can set its own, and limits vary from park to park.
Key point: if you were not clearly told about the age limit before you bought, that may be worth looking into.
Where age limits come from
When you buy a static caravan or lodge on a holiday park, you own the caravan but not the land. You hold a pitch licence from the park, and that licence sets the terms of your stay, including any age limit.
Licence agreements
The pitch licence may say that a caravan must be removed or replaced once it reaches a certain age, such as 10, 15 or 20 years. Some parks use one fixed number. Others allow a caravan to stay longer if it passes a condition inspection.
Park rules
Many parks also have separate park rules. These sit alongside the licence agreement and may add requirements about the age, appearance or condition of caravans on the park.
Condition checks
Some parks carry out regular condition checks. Depending on the agreement, a caravan that fails a check may have to leave before it reaches the age limit, while one that passes may be allowed to stay beyond it.
What this means for you: the age limit comes from your contract, not from an Act of Parliament. That matters if the term was not clearly explained to you before you signed.
What can happen when your caravan reaches the age limit
Parks handle this in different ways. These are the options owners most often describe. What is open to you depends on your agreement.
Upgrade to a newer caravan
The park may offer to part-exchange your caravan for a newer one. This is often the first option put to owners. Before agreeing, ask:
- What part-exchange value is being offered, and how was it worked out?
- Do you have to buy from the park, or can you buy a caravan elsewhere?
- What will the new licence terms be, including the age limit on the new caravan?
Sell your caravan privately
Some agreements allow a private sale before the age limit is reached. The buyer will usually need a licence from the park. Check whether your agreement allows private sales and whether the park can approve or refuse a buyer. Our guide to selling a static caravan explains more.
Sell back to the park
The park may offer to buy your caravan. Ask for any offer in writing and take time to think about it. You do not usually have to accept the first offer.
Move the caravan off the park
You may be able to have the caravan removed and taken elsewhere. Check who pays for disconnection and removal, as some agreements put the whole cost on the owner.
Read your agreement carefully before you act on any of these. What one park allows, another may not.
How to find the age limit in your agreement
The age limit should be written into your pitch licence or the park rules you were given. Look in:
- The pitch licence. Look for a section headed something like "caravan age", "holiday home standards" or "condition of the caravan". The limit may count from the year the caravan was made or from when it was first placed on the pitch.
- The park rules. These may set out appearance, maintenance and age requirements.
- The sales paperwork. If you bought from the park or a dealer, check any brochures, order forms or written quotes.
If you cannot find your agreement, ask the park for a copy in writing, and keep a note of when you asked and what they said. If you were never shown the age limit before you bought, make a note of that too.
If you bought a second-hand caravan, check how your agreement counts its age. Many count from the year of manufacture, not the year you bought it. A caravan made ten years ago on a park with a fifteen-year limit may have about five years left on the park.
Residential park homes are different
Everything above applies to holiday caravans and lodges on holiday parks. Residential park homes are different.
Residential park homes on protected sites in England are covered by the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (in Wales, the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013). The agreement continues until it is ended in line with the Act. The site owner can only end it on limited grounds, and a tribunal or court must agree. One ground is that, because of its condition, the home is having a detrimental effect on the amenity of the site. The age of a home is not itself a ground, so a fixed age limit of the kind used on holiday parks does not, on its own, end the agreement.
Holiday caravan owners have far fewer of these protections. Our guide to park home owner rights explains more.
If you were told your caravan could stay longer than your agreement allows
You may have been told the age limit was flexible, or that your caravan could stay while it was in good condition. If your written agreement says something different, that may be relevant. If the age limit was not clearly explained before you bought, or what you were told turned out to be wrong, it may be worth having your purchase reviewed. Our page on mis-sold static caravans explains what mis-selling can look like.
Park Home Claim is a claims assistance firm, not a law firm. We are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. An independent SRA-regulated solicitor reviews each case. The review is free and there is no obligation.
Sources
- Mobile Homes Act 1983
- The rights of residential and holiday mobile home owners in England, House of Commons Library, July 2026