Holiday Caravan Sites
Holiday Parks are licenced by the Local Authority and the Caravan Site Licence has conditions attached which cover fire safety and other health & safety matters. There are currently two sets of Licence Conditions for Sites that were in existence prior to and after 2014. A copy of the Site Licence for the Park should be displayed prominently on site and should confirm which Licence Conditions are applicable. A copy of the Site Licence Conditions can be viewed in the Related Documents section at the bottom of this page.
Once issued, a Licence remains valid until a park is sold, at which point the Licence will need to be transferred to the new owner. Upon the death of a caravan park owner a new Licence Application would need to be made.
Park Operators usually issue a contract to their residents which also includes a list of Park Rules. The Park Rules are in addition to the Site Licence Conditions and cover the day to day operation of a park.
Can I Live on a Holiday Park?
No. You cannot live on a holiday caravan site even if the opening period is for 12 months of the year. A full list of caravan sites where you can live permanently (because planning permission is approved by the Local Planning Authority for permanent residential use), can be found here.
If the caravan site where you live already or are proposing to live IS NOT SPECIFIED on the list of Residential Sites this means you cannot live there, and it is a holiday site only. If you are living permanently on a holiday site with no sole/main address other than your caravan you will be in breach of Planning and Licensing regulations and may be subject to formal enforcement action.
Your Site Operator may ask you to provide evidence annually of your home address so that they can keep a register of each plot's sole/main place of residence. This could include, but is not limited to, passport, driving licence, council tax or other utility bills.
We will investigate any alleged breaches of occupancy in holiday caravans for residential use and may also request information from you to prove that you have an address other than at your caravan.
We would advise you to read the Holiday Use Guidance Notes & FAQs at the bottom of this page in the related documents section.
Please note, that if you are using your caravan as your sole or main place of residence, you may still be liable to pay Council Tax. Registering to pay Council Tax does not mean that residential use of your holiday caravan is lawful and you may still be subject to enforcement action.
For further information with regards to Council Tax please visit their webpage.
Site Inspections
Annual Site Licence Inspections are carried out to ensure that Holiday Parks comply with the requirements of their Site Licence. Any breaches identified will need to be rectified within an agreed timescale. Further enforcement action can be taken against sites that fail to comply with their Licence Conditions.
How to make a Complaint about a Holiday Caravan Park
We can investigate complaints regarding Holiday Caravan Parks, provided that the complaint relates to a breach of Site Licence Conditions. If you would like to make a complaint, please contact us using the details on our Contact Us page.
There are some cases where the Local Authority is not able to investigate. These matters may be dealt with via other agencies including Lincolnshire County Council Trading Standards, or the Health & Safety Executive.
We are not able to investigate any breaches of Site Rules as this would be a private civil matter between yourself as the Caravan Owner and the Park Operator. We would recommend that you seek independent legal advice.
Contact us
- For information about how to contact the Caravan Licensing Team click here.