Ground rent on a static caravan is the regular charge you pay to keep your caravan on its pitch at a holiday park. Most parks call it a site fee or pitch fee instead. All three terms usually mean the same thing.
That is the main confusion, and it matters. When you bought your caravan, the park may have used any of these words. They are almost always referring to the same annual or monthly charge for the right to occupy your plot of land. This guide explains what the charge covers, how it is set, and where to find it in your paperwork.
Ground Rent, Site Fee, Pitch Fee: What Is the Difference?
In practice, very little. Holiday parks in the UK use all three terms, and sometimes combine them (for example, "annual site fee and ground rent"). What they are describing is the same basic thing: the amount you pay each year to keep your static caravan or lodge on the park's land.
The short answer: if your agreement mentions any of these terms, they are almost certainly all referring to the same charge. Read them as one combined cost unless your agreement specifically splits them into separate line items with separate amounts.
Some parks do separate out smaller charges, for example a utility connection fee or a maintenance levy, but the main recurring charge for your pitch is nearly always described under one of those three headings.
What Does Ground Rent on a Static Caravan Pay For?
Your ground rent or site fee typically covers the park's costs for maintaining the land and shared infrastructure. The exact scope varies, but it commonly includes:
- Land occupation: the right to place your caravan on that specific pitch
- Roads and pathways: maintenance of internal roads and shared access areas
- Shared facilities: upkeep of communal areas such as reception, toilets or leisure facilities
- Landscaping and grounds: grass cutting, hedges and general appearance of the park
- Site management: staffing costs for running the park day to day
- Utilities infrastructure: maintenance of mains connections (water, electricity, drainage) serving your pitch
Important: the fee does not usually cover your caravan's insurance, its contents, or repairs to the caravan itself. Those are separate costs that fall to you as the owner.
How Is Ground Rent Set and Reviewed?
On a holiday park, the park operator sets the initial ground rent or site fee. The starting amount is stated in your licence agreement at the time you buy.
How reviews work on a holiday pitch
Holiday caravan owners hold their pitch under a licence agreement, not a tenancy or a lease. This is an important legal distinction. Because it is a licence, the park operator has wide discretion over how and when they review the fee.
Most licence agreements include a review clause. Common approaches include:
- Annual review tied to a published index, such as the Retail Price Index (RPI) or Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Fixed percentage increase each year, stated in the agreement
- Review at the park's discretion, with a set notice period before any increase takes effect
The key point is that the terms of any review are set by the agreement itself, not by statute. If the agreement allows the park to increase the fee each year, they can do so within those terms.
What to do if a review feels unexpected
Some owners say the fee increases were not what they expected when they bought. If the review mechanism was not clearly explained to you before purchase, it may be worth checking whether the information you were given at the point of sale was complete and accurate.
Where to Find Ground Rent in Your Agreement
Your ground rent or site fee should be set out in writing in the documents you received when you bought your caravan. Here is what to look for.
The document to find
Look for your licence agreement or pitch licence. This is the contract between you and the park operator. It governs your right to keep the caravan on the park and sets out the fees you pay.
If you have a folder of paperwork from your purchase, the licence agreement is usually the longest document in it. It may be headed "Holiday Caravan Licence", "Pitch Licence Agreement", "Licence to Occupy", or similar wording.
The clauses to look for
Once you have the document, search for sections headed:
- Fees or Charges
- Site Fee or Pitch Fee or Ground Rent
- Licence Fee
- Review of Fees or Annual Review
The fees clause should state the starting amount and explain how and when it can be reviewed. The review clause should tell you what index or method is used and how much notice the park must give you before a change takes effect.
Tip: If you cannot find these clauses, or if the document you have does not seem to cover fees at all, it may not be your licence agreement. Check whether you were given a separate document at the time of purchase, or contact the park and ask for a copy of your current pitch licence.
If you no longer have your original paperwork, you have the right to request copies from the park operator.
Holiday Caravans vs Residential Park Homes: Different Rules
This is one of the most important distinctions in park home and caravan ownership, and it is one that some owners are not aware of when they buy.
Residential park homes
If you live permanently in a residential park home on a residential site, your pitch fee is governed by the Mobile Homes Act 1983. This Act gives residential occupiers specific legal protections, including:
- A formal process for how the park can review the pitch fee
- The right to challenge a proposed increase
- Protections against eviction
These rights apply because a residential park home is your permanent home, and the law treats it accordingly.
Holiday caravans and lodges
If you own a static caravan or lodge on a holiday park, the Mobile Homes Act 1983 does not apply to you. Holiday caravans sit on licence agreements, not protected residential agreements. This means:
- There is no statutory process governing how the park reviews your fee
- You cannot use the Mobile Homes Act to challenge a fee increase
- Your rights are set by the terms of your licence agreement, not by that legislation
This distinction is not always made clear at the point of sale. Some owners have said they were not told that the protections available to residential park home owners do not extend to holiday caravan owners.
In short: the Mobile Homes Act 1983 protects residential park home owners. It does not protect holiday caravan or lodge owners. If you own a holiday caravan and were told otherwise, it may be worth looking into what you were told before you bought.
What to Do If the Costs Were Not What You Expected
Some caravan owners say the ground rent or site fee they were quoted before buying turned out to be different from what they actually pay. Others say they were not told how often the fee could go up, or by how much.
If that sounds familiar, the first step is to go back to your original paperwork and compare what you were told at the point of sale with what your licence agreement actually says.
Things to look at include:
- Any written quotes, brochures or sales materials you were given
- Notes from any conversations with the park's sales team (if you kept them)
- The fee review clause in your licence agreement
- Any correspondence about fee increases since you bought
If there is a difference between what you were told and what the agreement says, it may be worth getting an independent view on whether the information you received was complete and accurate.
Park Home Claim offers a free, no-obligation check to help owners understand whether the information they were given at the point of sale may give rise to a claim. You can start your free check here.
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.