Pitch fees explained: holiday lodges, static caravans and park homes

Pitch fees are the annual charge every owner of a holiday lodge, static caravan or park home pays to the park for the right to keep the home on its pitch. They are often the largest running cost of ownership, and because they are paid every year for as long as you keep the home, they can add up to more than the purchase price over time. Yet pitch fees are frequently the last thing buyers look at, and the rules that govern them differ sharply between holiday homes and residential park homes.

This guide explains what pitch fees and site fees cover, how park home pitch fee reviews work under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, how holiday park fees are set, and how fees affect affordability and any finance. We are a broker for holiday park and leisure business finance, not a lender, and we are not authorised or regulated by the FCA. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.

What is a pitch fee?

A pitch fee is the amount the owner of a caravan, lodge or park home pays the park owner for the right to station the home on a pitch and to use the park's common areas and facilities. On holiday parks it is often called a site fee or ground rent. It is separate from the price of the home itself and it is paid each year, usually annually in advance on holiday parks and often monthly on residential park home sites.

What a pitch fee covers depends on the park and the agreement, but it typically includes the use of the pitch and the park's roads, paths, lighting and landscaping, upkeep of shared areas and facilities, and site management. It often does not include utilities, which are usually charged separately by meter or recharge, and on holiday parks it may or may not include business rates, water, sewerage and some services such as grass cutting around the unit. The agreement should set out exactly what is included and what is extra.

Holiday lodge and static caravan pitch fees

On a holiday park, pitch fees are set by the contract between the owner and the park, often called a licence agreement or holiday home agreement. The Mobile Homes Act 1983 protections on pitch fee reviews do not apply to holiday homes. Instead, the agreement should say how and when the fee is reviewed, and holiday home agreements are subject to general consumer law, including the requirement under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for contract terms to be fair and transparent.

Holiday park fees vary widely with the park's location, facilities, the size and position of the pitch and the length of the season. A pitch with a view, on a park with a pool and clubhouse and a twelve-month season, will typically cost more than a pitch on a quieter park open for part of the year. Fees are usually reviewed every year, and the increase is not tied to a statutory index, so it is worth asking to see the fee history for the pitch and the basis the park uses to set increases. Some agreements link increases to an inflation index; others leave more discretion to the park.

Park home pitch fees and the annual review

Residential park homes on protected sites are different. Under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, the site owner can propose a change to the pitch fee once a year, on the review date in the agreement. The owner must be given at least 28 days' written notice before the review date, using the prescribed pitch fee review form. If the home owner agrees, the new fee applies. If not, the site owner can apply to the tribunal, which in England is the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), and the existing fee continues until the matter is decided.

There is a statutory presumption that the pitch fee changes by no more than inflation, adjusted for certain factors such as improvements the site owner has made or any decline in the site's amenity. In England the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023 replaced the Retail Prices Index (RPI) with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) as that measure from 2 July 2023. In Wales, the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 already uses CPI. In Scotland, section 61 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 moved the presumption from RPI to CPI for pitch fee review notices due on or after 1 April 2026. Site owners in England cannot recover the difference between RPI and CPI by other means.

What else you pay on top of the pitch fee

The pitch fee is only one line of the annual budget. Holiday home owners typically also pay for gas and electricity, water and sewerage, a share of business rates or the rates on their own unit, insurance for the home and its contents, and seasonal work such as draining down for winter and annual gas and electrical safety checks. Some parks charge for a parking space, a hot tub connection or use of leisure facilities. If the home is let through the park, a letting commission comes off the income as well.

Park home owners pay council tax on their home, utilities, insurance and maintenance. For residential sites, the Mobile Homes Act rules restrict what a site owner can charge for utilities: on the GOV.UK guidance, gas and electricity cannot be resold at more than cost, and water can be recharged at the water company's rate plus a reasonable administration fee. Checking all of these in advance gives a realistic monthly cost.

How pitch fees affect affordability and finance

Because the pitch fee and running costs continue for as long as you own the home, they matter as much as the price. A cheaper caravan on a park with high and fast-rising fees can cost more over five years than a more expensive one on a park with moderate fees. When you add a finance repayment on top, the monthly total can be substantial, and it keeps rising with each fee review while the value of the home typically falls.

Any lender assessing a personal loan for a lodge, caravan or park home will look at your income and outgoings, and the pitch fee is one of the largest outgoings. For a park home, lenders and advisers will also look at the pitch agreement and the review history. For a lodge you plan to let, the fees set the bar that letting income must clear before any return, which is why our holiday let calculator includes site fees as a core input. As always, personal-use finance is regulated, and we refer those enquiries to FCA-authorised firms.

Pitch fees from the park owner's side

For a holiday park or residential park owner, pitch fees are the backbone of the business. They are the recurring income that lenders value most, because they are paid each year by owners who have already invested in a home on the park. A park's pitch fee roll, occupancy of pitches, fee levels against comparable parks and the record of reviews are central to how the park is valued and how much can be borrowed against it.

That is the part of pitch fee income where we work directly: arranging acquisition, refinance and development finance for park owners and buyers, assessed on the park's earnings. Our guides to holiday park yields and EBITDA and to buying a holiday park explain how pitch fee income drives valuation and lending.