Park Home Mortgage: Can You Get One, and What Are the Real Options?

By Jake Stott, Knox Mortgages. Reviewed by an adviser authorised under Fort Advice Bureau, FCA FRN 972730. Published 27 September 2026. Last reviewed 27 September 2026.

A park home mortgage is, strictly speaking, a product that does not exist in the UK. A park home is a chattel: you own the home itself, but not the pitch it stands on, which stays with the site owner. With no land to take a legal charge over, mainstream mortgage lenders will not lend on it. Buyers fund park homes instead through specialist park home finance secured on the home, personal loans, cash, or by raising money against a house they already own.

Related guides: mortgages over 60, houseboat and narrowboat finance and retirement interest-only mortgages.

That is the short answer. The rest of this page explains why lenders say no, what each funding route costs in real numbers, the site and legal checks that decide whether a park home is a sound purchase at all, and exactly which parts Knox can help with and which parts need a specialist park home lender.

Can you get a mortgage on a park home?

No, not a standard residential mortgage. A regulated mortgage in the UK is secured by a legal charge over land or buildings registered at HM Land Registry. A park home is legally a caravan under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and the Mobile Homes Act 1983, even though it looks and lives like a bungalow. You buy the structure; the site owner keeps the land. Your right to keep the home on the pitch comes from a written agreement with the site owner, not from owning a title.

That leaves a mortgage lender with nothing it recognises as property security. It cannot register a charge, cannot rely on land value, and cannot be sure the asset will hold value over a 25 year term. Some lenders will lend against the home itself, but those are consumer credit loans regulated under a different set of FCA rules, not mortgages. When you see “park home mortgage” advertised, it almost always means one of these loans, or it means using a mortgage on a different property to fund the purchase.

Why are park homes not mortgageable in the usual sense?

Four features of park home ownership combine to push mainstream lenders away. Each one on its own would be a problem; together they are decisive.

Feature	What it means for you	Why a mortgage lender declines
The home is a chattel	You own the structure, like a car or a boat, not land	No legal charge can be registered at Land Registry
You do not own the pitch	Your right to occupy comes from a written agreement with the site owner	The lender’s security depends on a third party’s land and rules
Pitch fees are payable for life	A monthly fee to the site owner, reviewed each year	An ongoing cost that ranks alongside loan repayments in affordability
Commission on resale	Up to 10% of the sale price goes to the site owner when you sell	Reduces what the lender could recover on a forced sale
Values can fall	Park homes often do not rise in value like houses, and older homes can depreciate	The security may be worth less than the debt within a few years

The practical result: park home finance tends to be shorter term, lower loan to value and higher interest than a mortgage, because the lender is taking more risk on a depreciating asset it cannot tie to land.

What finance options actually exist for a park home?

There are five realistic routes. Most buyers use a combination, typically cash from a house sale plus one of the others to bridge a gap or a timing problem.

Route	Secured on	Typical size and term (as published, September 2026)	Regulated as	Can Knox arrange it?
Specialist park home finance	The park home itself	Around 70% to 80% of price, terms up to 15 years (some manufacturers quote up to 25)	Consumer credit	No. Needs a specialist park home lender or finance broker
Unsecured personal loan	Nothing	Usually up to about £25,000 to £50,000, 1 to 7 years	Consumer credit	No
Remortgage or further advance on a home you own	Your existing house	Depends on equity and income; terms can run 25 years or more	Regulated mortgage	Yes
Later-life lending (retirement interest-only) on a current home	Your existing house	Interest-only for life, repaid on sale, death or care	Regulated mortgage	Yes
Cash, usually from selling a house	Not applicable	Whatever the sale releases	Not applicable	Knox can arrange a mortgage for the move if one is needed

Specialist park home finance secured on the home

This is the closest thing to a park home mortgage. A lender takes security over the home as a chattel and lends a proportion of the price. Published terms we checked in September 2026:

• Best Park Home Finance (linked to Wyldecrest Parks) lends up to 70% of the price of a residential park home and up to 80% for holiday homes and lodges, capped at £50,000, over one month to 15 years, with no age limit on applications. It only funds homes bought through Wyldecrest Parks.
• Pegasus Finance, an FCA-authorised finance broker (FRN 662397), quotes loans from £5,000 to £350,000 over up to 180 months, no deposit required, with a representative APR of 11.9% and a quoted range of 5.9% to 29.9% APR.
• Manufacturer guidance varies: Willerby’s buyer guide quotes up to 80% of the price over up to 15 years; Omar’s guide quotes up to 80% with repayments up to 25 years.

Rates and criteria change often and depend on your credit file, so treat these as a market snapshot, not a quote. Note that none of these is a mortgage and you do not get mortgage protections such as the Mortgage Conduct of Business rules.

Releasing equity from a property you already own

If you own a house with equity, a remortgage or further advance can raise the money at mortgage rates, which are usually well below park home finance APRs. This is the route Knox arranges most often for park home buyers. The catch is that the loan sits on your existing house, so it only suits people keeping that house for a while or selling it later. Read our guide to remortgaging to release equity for how lenders assess capital raising.

Later-life options before downsizing

Buyers over 55 often want to secure the park home before their house sells. A retirement interest-only mortgage on the current home lets you raise funds with interest-only payments and no fixed end date, then clear the loan when the house sells. For some people a lifetime mortgage is worth comparing; our explainer on how equity release works sets out the trade-offs, and equity release advice needs a specifically qualified adviser. For short gaps of weeks or months, a regulated bridging loan on your house is another option.

Residential park or holiday park: why does it matter so much?

It is the single most important question to settle before you spend a penny. A residential park home can be your main home; a holiday lodge cannot, however permanent it looks.

	Residential park home	Holiday lodge or static caravan
Can it be your main residence?	Yes	No. Holiday licences usually require you to have a main home elsewhere
Legal protection	Mobile Homes Act 1983 written agreement, rights to sell and gift	Contract only. The Mobile Homes Act does not apply
Occupancy	All year	Set by the site licence, often 10 to 12 months with a closed period
Build standard	BS 3632 (residential park homes)	Usually BS EN 1647 (leisure accommodation)
Council tax	Payable	Not normally payable on the unit; site pays business rates
Age of home rules	Home can generally stay while in reasonable condition	Many parks require replacement after 10 to 20 years
Finance	Specialist park home finance, equity on another property	Leisure or lodge finance, often higher LTV but shorter terms

Living full-time in a holiday lodge breaches the site licence and your agreement. It can lead to eviction, and it leaves you with no protected home. Some holiday parks are marketed with phrases like “lodge living”; read the site licence, not the brochure. If a second home by the sea is the actual plan, compare a lodge against a holiday home mortgage on a bricks-and-mortar property, which can hold value better.

What is the Mobile Homes Act written agreement, and what does it cost you?

On a protected residential site in England, the Mobile Homes Act 1983 gives you a written agreement (the written statement) that sets out your right to keep the home on the pitch, the pitch fee, the review date, park rules and the site owner’s obligations. The site owner must provide it before you buy, and you should read it with a solicitor who handles park home sales.

Three terms drive the long-term cost:

1. Pitch fee. A monthly or annual fee to the site owner. The Arden Parks examples published in 2026 show pitch fees of £193.77 and £246.58 a month on two of its parks. In England, the annual increase is presumed to be in line with CPI, not RPI, for review notices issued on or after 2 July 2023, under the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023.
2. Commission on sale. When you sell, the site owner is entitled to commission of up to 10% of the sale price. The UK Government opened a call for evidence on the commission on 5 March 2026, closing 29 May 2026, but as of September 2026 no change has been confirmed and the maximum remains 10% in England. Wales announced a phased cut to 5% in 2018 but paused it after a judicial review challenge; we have not found a confirmed change in force, so assume 10% unless your solicitor confirms otherwise.
3. Park rules. These can restrict pets, commercial vehicles, extensions, and the age of residents.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions of these rules. Your solicitor should confirm which regime applies to the park.

Which site checks should you make before buying?

Lenders who fund park homes check the site as much as the buyer, and so should you. Work through this list before paying a reservation fee:

• Site licence. Ask the local council for a copy. It confirms whether the site is licenced for residential use all year or holiday use only, and how many homes it may hold.
• Fit and proper person register. In England, since 2021, the person managing a relevant protected site must be on the council’s fit and proper person register. Check it.
• Planning status. Residential use needs planning consent as well as a licence. A mismatch is a red flag.
• Written agreement and park rules. Request them before you commit; look at the pitch fee review history for the last three years.
• Age restrictions. Many residential parks set a minimum age of 45, 50 or 55. That affects who you can sell to later, and so your resale market.
• Home standard and age. Ask for the BS 3632 certificate and the year of manufacture. Finance on older homes is harder to get.
• Utilities and charges. Check whether gas, electricity and water are metered and resold by the site, and at what margin.
• Flood risk and access. Many parks sit in rural or coastal locations. Check insurance availability and cost before buying.

Worked example: funding a £200,000 park home four ways

Margaret, 66, has found a residential park home at £200,000. She owns her house outright, worth £380,000, and has £140,000 in savings. She needs £60,000 more, and the park will only hold the home for eight weeks. The pitch fee is £200 a month. All rates below are illustrative for comparison, not quotes, and exclude lender product and valuation fees.

Route	Amount	Illustrative rate and term	Monthly payment	Total interest
A. Park home finance secured on the home	£60,000	11.9% APR over 10 years	£836.60	£40,391.78
B. Remortgage of her house, capital repayment	£60,000	6.5% over 10 years	£681.29	£21,754.54
C. Retirement interest-only on her house, repaid when it sells in 9 months	£60,000	6.5% interest-only	£325.00	£2,925.00
D. Personal loan plus savings	£25,000	6.9% APR over 5 years	£491.39	£4,483.57 (still £35,000 short)

The arithmetic:

• Route A: a monthly rate of about 0.942% (11.9% APR converted monthly) over 120 payments gives £836.60 a month. £836.60 × 120 = £100,391.78, less the £60,000 borrowed = £40,391.78 in interest.
• Route B: 6.5% ÷ 12 = 0.5417% a month over 120 payments gives £681.29. £681.29 × 120 = £81,754.54, less £60,000 = £21,754.54.
• Route C: £60,000 × 6.5% ÷ 12 = £325 a month. Nine months × £325 = £2,925, then the loan is repaid from the house sale.
• Route D: does not solve the problem on its own. It covers £25,000 and leaves a £35,000 gap.

Add the pitch fee on top of every route: £200 × 12 = £2,400 a year before CPI increases. And remember the exit cost. If Margaret sells the park home for £200,000 in future, commission of up to 10% means up to £20,000 goes to the site owner, so she would receive £180,000 before agents and legal fees.

The lesson is not that one route always wins. It is that the security matters more than the headline rate. Route A is the only option that does not touch her house, but it costs roughly £18,600 more in interest than Route B over the same term. Route C is cheapest if the house genuinely sells, and most expensive in stress if it does not. Whether the numbers stack up depends on her income in retirement, which is what any lender will test.

An illustrative Knox case

A couple in their late 60s came to us having reserved a residential park home on the south coast. Their three-bedroom house was on the market but unsold, and the park wanted completion within two months. A park home loan was available, but at a rate roughly double what they could borrow against the house.

We arranged a capital raise on the existing house through a lender that accepted the purchase of a park home as the loan purpose, sized so the payments were affordable on their pension income alone. They bought the park home, moved in, and repaid the loan in full when the house completed five months later. The park home finance element never came into it. This is an illustrative scenario based on the type of case we handle, with details changed.

Which parts can Knox help with, and which need a specialist?

Knox Mortgages is authorised for mortgage and protection business through Fort Advice Bureau. That draws a clear line.

Knox can help with:

• Remortgaging or a further advance on a house you own to fund the park home purchase
• Retirement interest-only mortgages and other later-life lending on your current home
• Regulated bridging on your current home where timing is the only problem
• The mortgage on any property you are buying alongside or instead of a park home, as a home mover or second home buyer
• Life and protection cover around any borrowing

You need a specialist park home lender or finance broker for:

• Loans secured on the park home itself
• Lodge and static caravan finance
• Personal loans

We will tell you plainly when the right answer sits outside what we arrange. Often the most useful thing we do is compare the cost of raising money on your house against a park home loan quote you already have, so you can see the difference in pounds.

Why do park home finance applications get declined, and what is the fix?

Reason for decline	What is going on	The fix
Holiday site, residential use	Buyer plans to live full-time on a holiday licence	Buy on a residential site, or treat the lodge as a second home only
Home too old	Lender caps the age of the home, often around 10 to 15 years at the end of the term	Choose a newer home, shorten the term, or fund with equity from your house
Affordability after pitch fees	Pension income cannot cover loan, pitch fee and site charges	Borrow less, extend the term within the lender’s limits, or use interest-only on your house
Park not on the lender’s panel	Some finance is tied to one operator’s parks	Use a broker that covers the whole leisure finance market
Capital raise purpose refused	Mortgage lender will not fund a chattel purchase	Use a lender that accepts the purpose; Knox knows which ones do
Credit file issues	Defaults or missed payments push rates towards the top of the APR range	Check your file first, clear small debts, consider a secured route on your house
Short or unclear written agreement	Lender cannot confirm your right to keep the home on the pitch	Get the written agreement reviewed by a park home solicitor before applying

Is buying a park home a good idea financially?

It can be, for the right buyer. Park homes are usually cheaper than a bungalow in the same area, often come on quiet, managed sites with like-minded neighbours, and can free up equity from a family home for retirement. Those are genuine advantages.

The costs are just as real. You pay a pitch fee for life, it rises every year, and up to 10% of the sale price goes to the site owner when you sell. Values often track the condition of the home and the reputation of the park rather than the wider housing market, and older homes can lose value. That makes a park home closer to a lifestyle purchase than an investment. Buy one because you want to live there, fund it in the cheapest way that does not put your main security at risk, and budget for the exit cost from day one.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get a mortgage on a park home?

No mainstream lender offers a standard mortgage on a park home, because you own the home but not the land it sits on. Buyers use specialist park home finance secured on the home, personal loans, cash, or a mortgage on a house they already own.

What is the difference between park home finance and a mortgage?

A mortgage is secured on land and buildings and regulated under the FCA’s mortgage rules. Park home finance is a consumer credit loan secured on the home as a chattel. It usually has a shorter term, lower loan to value and a higher interest rate.

How much can I borrow for a park home?

Published September 2026 terms range from around 70% of the price for residential park homes to 80% for holiday lodges, with some lenders capped at £50,000. Finance brokers quote loans up to £350,000 over up to 15 years, subject to credit and affordability.

Can I live in a holiday lodge all year?

No. A holiday lodge on a holiday-licenced park cannot be your main residence, even if the park is open 12 months a year. You normally need to prove a main home elsewhere. Only homes on residential parks can be lived in permanently.

What is the 10% commission on park home sales?

When you sell a park home on a protected site, the site owner is entitled to commission of up to 10% of the sale price. The Government ran a call for evidence on it in 2026, but as of September 2026 the 10% maximum still applies in England.

How much are park home pitch fees?

It depends on the park. Published examples in 2026 range from around £190 to £250 a month. In England, annual increases are presumed to follow CPI for reviews from 2 July 2023. Check the last three years of increases before you buy.

Can I remortgage my house to buy a park home?

Yes, if you have enough equity and income, and the lender accepts buying a park home as the loan purpose. Not every lender does. Rates are usually lower than park home finance, but the debt sits on your house, so plan how it will be repaid.

Is there an age limit for park home finance?

Some lenders have no maximum age at application, but most check that the loan is affordable on your retirement income and may limit the term. Separately, many residential parks set a minimum resident age of 45, 50 or 55 in their park rules.

Talk to us before you reserve

If you are buying a park home and own a house, the cheapest money is often already in your bricks and mortar. Book a free, no-obligation discovery call and we will compare raising funds on your home against any park home finance quote you have, in pounds, before you commit.

---

Your home may be repossessed if you don’t keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Knox Mortgages is a trading style of Fort Advice Bureau which is regulated and authorised by the FCA to conduct Mortgage and Protection business, FRN: 972730