What is a pitch fee, and what does it actually cover?
It is the number that decides what a park home costs to own, and it is the number least often quoted next to the price.
· 6 minute read
The short answer
A pitch fee is the annual charge for keeping your home on its plot. On the residential parks in this portfolio it is £3,000 a year; on the holiday parks it is £5,000. It covers the rent of the land the home stands on, the drainage, and the upkeep of the park's roads and common areas. It does not cover utilities, which are metered to your home and billed quarterly, and it does not cover council tax. On a residential park it is reviewed once a year under the Mobile Homes Act, with at least 28 days' written notice on a prescribed form and a right to refer the review to a tribunal.
What is in the pitch fee, and what is billed separately?
In it: the rent of the plot, the drainage, the maintenance of the park's roads, lighting and common areas, and the park's own administration. On a holiday park, the upkeep of the pitches.
Billed separately: gas, electricity and water, metered to your home and invoiced quarterly. Insurance on the home, which is yours and which you arrange. Council tax, on a residential home, paid to the local authority rather than to the park. Any service the park offers and charges for, such as grass cutting on a plot you do not want to cut yourself.
The written statement you receive before signing sets out which is which for your plot. That document governs, not this page.
How can the pitch fee be increased?
On a residential park, once a year and only in the way the Mobile Homes Act allows: at least 28 days' written notice, on a prescribed form, with a written statement of the proposed new fee and the reasons for it.
The Act sets out what may be taken into account. If you think a proposed increase is unjustified you can refuse it and the park must apply to the First-tier Tribunal, which decides. You do not lose your home by querying a pitch fee review, and residents who believe otherwise are the reason this paragraph exists.
On a holiday park the review is governed by the licence rather than by statute. There is no prescribed form and no tribunal. That is a real difference and it is worth reading the licence specifically on this point before you reserve.
Why is the holiday pitch fee higher than the residential one?
Because it buys something different. A holiday park carries business rates on the pitches, which the park pays and the fee reflects; a residential home pays its own council tax instead. Holiday parks also run facilities and grounds to a standard that costs more to keep.
Compare the two properly and the gap narrows: £5,000 with no council tax against £3,000 plus council tax, usually Band A. It is not the same as a £2,000 difference, and it is presented that way often enough to be worth saying.
Does the pitch fee rise when I sell?
Not because of the sale. On a residential park the fee transfers with the agreement, and a park cannot use a change of occupier as a reason to reset it. On a holiday park the licence governs what happens on assignment, and some licences do allow the fee to be restated. Ask before you buy, not before you sell.
This matters when you are buying from an existing resident rather than buying a new home. Ask the seller what they currently pay and ask the park to confirm it in writing.
Is the pitch fee negotiable?
No, and a park that negotiates it privately with one buyer is creating a problem for everyone else on the park. It is published, it is the same for everybody, and on a residential park the Act governs how it changes.
What is sometimes negotiable is what is included in the purchase: siting, steps, skirting, connection to services, the deck. Ask for that list in writing before you reserve.
Questions people ask
Is the pitch fee the same as ground rent?
+
It is the same idea and a different legal thing. Ground rent belongs to leasehold land; a pitch fee belongs to an agreement for a plot under the Mobile Homes Act or a holiday licence, and on a residential park the Act controls how it is reviewed.
Can the park put the pitch fee up by more than inflation?
+
On a residential park it can propose it, and you can refuse, in which case the park must apply to the First-tier Tribunal and justify it. The Act sets out what may be taken into account.
What happens if I do not pay the pitch fee?
+
It is a breach of the agreement, and on a residential park the park must go to court to end the agreement rather than acting on its own. Speak to the park early: a payment arrangement is almost always available and silence is what causes the problem.
Does the pitch fee cover buildings insurance?
+
No. The home is yours and you insure it. Parks usually require evidence of cover, which is reasonable, and they cannot require you to buy it through them.
Is VAT charged on the pitch fee?
+
The figures quoted here are what you pay. Ask the sales team to confirm the VAT treatment in writing for the park you are considering, because it differs between residential and holiday pitches.
This is general information and not legal advice. Where this page describes the law it is the law as it stands in England, and the GOV.UK park homes factsheets are the place to check it. The licence or Mobile Homes Act agreement, the park rules and the written statement govern your purchase; you receive them at least 28 days before signing, and we recommend a solicitor who knows park homes reads them.