Buying a lodge to live in. Advice and thought re pros and cons needed please.

turnitround

My son and his girlfriend are looking at buying a lodge on a holiday park. 

The park is open all year round and he has been told that they can live in it all year round. 

But, he has also been told that he will have to register for council tax at a family members address as the site is not licensed for residential use. That has made me wary about things, what do others think?

Does anyone here live in a lodge/caravan? Would you recommend?

Wonka_2

turnitround said:

My son and his girlfriend are looking at buying a lodge on a holiday park. 

The park is open all year round and he has been told that they can live in it all year round. 

But, he has also been told that he will have to register for council tax at a family members address as the site is not licensed for residential use. That has made me wary about things, what do others think?

Does anyone here live in a lodge/caravan? Would you recommend?

He should absolutely be wary on this basis - tell him to have a look Holiday Park Action Group on Facebook to give him more reasons why not

MultiFuelBurner

Just such a bad idea how much is the lodge and why can't this be used as a deposit for a property purchase.

Linton

I dont live in a lodge/caravan but...

Registering for council tax at a place where your son is not actually living seems highly dodgy and pretty pointless.  Presumably the friend is already living there and paying council tax.  I dont see how your son  lying about where he lives is going to solve anything. Is he going to tell the same lie when for example registering for a doctor, updating his driving licence or updating his passport? What does he tell his bank, his employer, or HMRC?

Has your son checked the Ts and Cs for what happens when he wants to move out?  One sees many horror stories.

BungalowBel

They are going to be living on a holiday park and that is why it can't be registered for Council Tax at the address - the park does not have a residential licence. It can't be registered as a permanent address and you can't live there full-time (even if the park is open all year round)..

They need to buy one on a residential park.

https://www.quickmoveproperties.co.uk/difference-between-a-residential-park-and-leisure-park

FreeBear

turnitround said:

My son and his girlfriend are looking at buying a lodge on a holiday park. 

The park is open all year round and he has been told that they can live in it all year round. 

But, he has also been told that he will have to register for council tax at a family members address as the site is not licensed for residential use. That has made me wary about things, what do others think?

Councils can and do data matching from multiple sources. It wouldn't take long for them to figure things out should they put their mind to it.

If the planning department get wind of this unauthorised use of the site, they can (and probably will) start enforcement action against the site owners. The son & gf could very quickly find themselves being forcably removed, and their "lodge" rendered worthless. Even if that doesn't happen, when the son & gf decide to sell and move on, the lodge will most likely have very little resale value. Oh, and the levels of insulation are likely to be very poor in comparison to the majority of houses.

UnderOffer

Why don’t they look at homes on a standard residential mobile home park, there are plenty about. Have they got it in writing that they can live on the holiday park? What does the hol park contract state regarding being residential? Will they need to upgrade the holiday home after 5-10 years and replace with a brand new unit? I’ve heard this happens on most parks. 

silvercar

People can and do live in these places all year round, the problem is that the park isn’t licensed for residential use and so the owners need to register somewhere else.

Another potential problem is that Royal Mail may not deliver, requiring use of a postal address service.

A risk is that the council realised too many people are actually living on the site and require the owners do something about it, which generally means a forced park shut down for a few weeks in winter, requiring people to move out. There is also the risk that a lot of maintenance is done in off season months resulting in loss of power occasionally. Also consider supply issues, is there decent mobile reception, internet providers etc. 

Skiddaw1

silvercar said:

People can and do live in these places all year round, the problem is that the park isn’t licensed for residential use and so the owners need to register somewhere else.

Another potential problem is that Royal Mail may not deliver, requiring use of a postal address service.

A risk is that the council realised too many people are actually living on the site and require the owners do something about it, which generally means a forced park shut down for a few weeks in winter, requiring people to move out. There is also the risk that a lot of maintenance is done in off season months resulting in loss of power occasionally. Also consider supply issues, is there decent mobile reception, internet providers etc. 

This. There's a fair few holiday parks around here and they all close for a few weeks (usually mid Jan- mid Feb). Some people do live there for much of the time but they're generally quite strict about the closure period (our nearest one relaxed things a bit during the pandemic but it's back to normal now). As others have said, better to look for a lodge on a residential park (though some of them have age restrictions- often 50+).

theartfullodger

turnitround said:

My son and his girlfriend are looking at buying a lodge on a holiday park. 

The park is open all year round and he has been told that they can live in it all year round. 

But, he has also been told that he will have to register for council tax at a family members address as the site is not licensed for residential use. .....

Almost certainly untrue.  Sounds like council tax fraud .

Avoid.

Mr.Generous

It occurred to me that the address used for car insurance might be an issue, do you use the lodge - which would be the truth, or claim you live elsewhere?