Selling a lodge: commission, approval and what the Act changed
The cost of leaving is the number least often discussed when you arrive. On a holiday park it is half again what it is on a residential one.
· 6 minute read
The short answer
On a residential park the Mobile Homes Act caps the park's commission on a sale at ten per cent of the price. And since the Mobile Homes Act 2013, a residential sale in England no longer needs the park to approve your buyer. That holds even where an older agreement or the site rules say otherwise. In practice the buyer pays you ninety per cent and holds back ten for the park. On a holiday park none of that applies. The licence sets the commission, which on these parks is 15% plus VAT. The licence also decides whether the park can vet your buyer.
How does a residential sale actually work now?
You find a buyer. The buyer notifies the park of the completion of the sale and the transfer of the agreement, on the official forms. The buyer pays you ninety per cent of the price on completion and holds back the other ten. That ten per cent goes to the park as its commission.
The park does not approve the buyer. The Mobile Homes Act 2013 removed that requirement for residential sales in England. An agreement or site rule that still claims it does not bring it back. Check the current GOV.UK factsheet on selling or gifting a lodge rather than relying on any park's summary, this one included.
If a park tells you it must approve your buyer on a residential sale, that is the point to take advice.
Why is the holiday figure so much higher?
Because nothing caps it. The ten per cent limit is a statutory cap under the Mobile Homes Act, and the Act applies to residential agreements, not to holiday licences. On a holiday park the figure is whatever the licence sets, and here it is 15% plus VAT.
That is roughly eighteen per cent of the sale price once VAT is counted. On a lodge sold at £250,000 it is about £45,000, against £25,000 on a residential home at the same price.
You are shown that figure in writing before you buy. It is the reason to read the licence on commission before you read it on anything else.
What else reduces what I get back?
Depreciation, which on a new home is steepest in the first years. A lodge is not a house and the market for a five-year-old lodge is the people who want that park.
The condition of the home and the plot. Decks, skirting and steps are yours to maintain and a tired one is visible from the road.
And the park's own stock. A park selling new homes on empty plots is competing with your resale. That is how this market works, not bad faith. Ask how many plots are still to be released before you buy.
Can I sell to anybody, or must it stay on the park?
In practice the home stays on the park: moving a sited lodge is possible, expensive, and almost never worth it. So the sale is of the home on its plot, to somebody who wants to be on that park.
That is the honest constraint on liquidity. The pool of buyers is not "people who want a home in Hampshire", it is "people who want this park". Visit on a wet Tuesday in February and ask yourself how many of those there are.
What about gifting it to family?
A residential agreement can be assigned to a family member, and the rules on commission differ for a gift as against a sale. The GOV.UK factsheet covers it and the detail matters, so take advice rather than working from a web page.
On a holiday licence, assignment to a family member is governed by the licence. Ask the park, and ask for the answer in writing.
Questions people ask
Does the park have to approve my buyer?
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Not on a residential sale in England. The Mobile Homes Act 2013 removed that requirement, even where an older agreement or the site rules still say otherwise. On a holiday licence the licence governs, so read it.
Who pays the ten per cent commission?
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It comes out of the sale price. The buyer pays the seller ninety per cent on completion and holds back ten per cent, which is paid to the park.
Can I use an estate agent?
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You can market the home however you like. An agent's fee would be on top of the park's commission, which is why most residents sell privately or through the park.
Is the commission negotiable?
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On a residential park it is capped at ten per cent and cannot exceed it. On a holiday park it is whatever the licence says, and the licence is the document to negotiate before you buy, not after.
Will the park buy the home back?
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Sometimes, and at a figure that reflects its own cost of reselling it. Treat an offer to buy back as one option to compare rather than as the value of the home.
This is general information and not legal advice. Where this page describes the law, it is the law as it stands in England. The GOV.UK lodges and bungalows factsheets are the place to check it. Your purchase is governed by the licence or Mobile Homes Act agreement, the park rules and the written statement. You get all of them at least 28 days before you sign. Have a solicitor who knows lodges and bungalows read them.