Park Home vs Bungalow: What’s the Real Difference?

Park homes and bungalows can look nearly identical from the kerb. Both are single-storey, both suit downsizers, and both offer easy living without stairs. The differences that matter sit underneath: how they’re built, how you own them, and what happens when you sell.

The short version

What is a park home?

A park home is a factory-built, single-storey home sited on a residential park, usually on a pitch you rent from the park owner. It has to be movable in one or two sections, either on wheels or by transporter. UK regulations cap the size at 20 metres long, 6.8 metres wide, and just over 3 metres floor to ceiling.

You can browse what’s available now on our park home listings, or search by region if you already know where you want to be.

How ownership differs

This is where park homes and bungalows part ways. A bungalow is a standard freehold or leasehold property, registered with the Land Registry, and you can get a mortgage on it like any house.

A park home works differently. You own the home outright, but not the land it sits on. That stays with the park owner.

“Buyers ask me about the land. You’re not buying the ground, and that’s a reason the home costs less than the bungalow down the road.”

Justin Allitt, Sell My Group

Because you don’t own the ground:

• Park homes aren’t registered with the Land Registry, so there’s no conveyancing when you buy or sell.
• You can’t get a standard mortgage on one. Most buyers pay cash or use specialist finance. We cover the options in our guide to park home finance and mortgages.
• Park homes come under their own legislation rather than standard property law.

The law on park homes

Residential park homes in England and Wales sit on what the law calls a protected site, and the main protections come from the Mobile Homes Act 1983, amended several times since. Two changes matter most to buyers today.

The Mobile Homes Act 2013 tightened the rules on site licensing and on how park owners handle sales, giving you the right to sell your home on the open market without the park owner blocking it.

The Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023 changed how your annual pitch fee increase gets calculated in England. From 2 July 2023, park owners have to use the Consumer Prices Index rather than the higher Retail Prices Index. Wales already worked this way. If a park owner uses RPI on a review notice served after that date, the review is invalid.

Every park home owner signs a written statement with the park operator covering pitch fees, rules and services. The park owner has to give you that statement at least 28 days before you commit, so use the time and read it properly. The Government’s park home guidance sets out your rights in full.

Scotland runs a separate system under its own mobile homes licensing rules, so check locally if you’re buying north of the border.

What happens when the owner dies

This one catches families out. The park home itself passes under the will or the rules of intestacy, the same as any other possession. The right to live on the pitch is a separate question.

The home itself counts as a chattel, a possession rather than an interest in land. That’s why there’s no conveyancing and no Land Registry transfer when it changes hands.

A husband, wife or civil partner living in the home at the time of death takes over the agreement automatically. So does another family member who was living there. If nobody was living in the home, whoever inherits it takes on the obligations of the agreement, including the pitch fee, but does not get an automatic right to occupy. That has to come from the park owner.

Anyone leaving a park home in a will should take proper legal advice on this rather than assume the home and the pitch travel together.

How they’re built

Bungalows go up brick by brick on site. Park homes are built off-site in a factory, then transported to the park and sited on their pitch. Residential park homes have to meet the BS3632 standard, which covers insulation, heating and safety for year-round living.

Inside, there’s often little to tell them apart. Central heating, double glazing, fitted kitchens and bathrooms are all standard. Most park homes come with one to three bedrooms, and many include a garden, parking, and sometimes a garage.

Running costs

Park homes tend to cost less to buy than an equivalent bungalow, though that depends on size, location and the specific properties you’re comparing. You can filter by price band to see what your budget actually reaches on the parks you like.

After the purchase price, the main ongoing cost is the pitch fee, paid to the park owner for the plot. Council tax on a park home usually falls in the lowest band, and day-to-day running costs come in lower than a comparable bricks-and-mortar home. That gap matters most if you’re downsizing from somewhere larger.

Is a park home right for you?

Park homes suit people looking to downsize, cut running costs, or move into a settled community. Many parks have an older resident profile, though plenty carry no age restriction at all. The trade-off is space. Most park homes are smaller than the average house, and moving in usually means letting go of some belongings.

The land question puts some buyers off too. You’ll never own the ground beneath a park home the way you would with a house, which some people find hard to get past even though it’s exactly why park homes cost less.

If you want to see what park living actually looks like, our inspiration pages walk through parks by setting and lifestyle. Already own one and thinking of moving on? Here’s how to sell your park home with us.