How Long Do Park Homes Last? Lifespan and Maintenance

Park Homes

14/08/2026

A park home lasts 40 to 70 years, and homes built in the 1960s are still lived in today. A new home built to BS3632 and properly looked after is put at 70 to 80 years by the manufacturers who build them.

That range is wide for a reason. Two identical homes leaving the same factory on the same day can be twenty years apart in condition by their fortieth birthday, and the difference is almost never the home. It is whether anybody looked underneath it.

This guide covers what actually decides a park home's working life, what to do and how often, and what the bigger jobs cost when they come round.

What the lifespan figures actually say

Figure	What it covers	Source
40 to 70 years	Typical working life of a park home, with homes from the 1960s still in use	Platinum Park Home Services, citing Right Choice Park Homes
70 to 80 years	A newly built home, maintained properly	Goldshield, via Quickmove Properties
Around 30 years	Typical weatherproof guarantee on a pitched park home roof	Platinum Park Home Services
10 years	Structural warranty period on a new home from a major manufacturer	Goldshield, via Quickmove Properties

Note what the roof figure implies. A guarantee of around thirty years on the roof of a home expected to last seventy tells you the home outlives its components. Parts get replaced. The structure carries on.

What ends a park home early

Three things, in this order.

Chassis corrosion

The steel chassis and the support jacks hold everything up, and they sit in the one place nobody looks. Rust that starts at a jack and is caught in year three costs a treatment. The same rust found in year fifteen is a chassis restoration, and the average is £3,750.

Clear the space under your home of garden waste, bags and rubbish, keep it ventilated, and get a torch under there twice a year. That is the whole job.

Water getting in

A blocked gutter overflows down the wall. A failed window seal wicks water into the frame. A slipped roof board lets rain into the insulation, where it sits for a year before you see a stain. None of these announce themselves, and all of them are cheap on the day they start.

Exposure

A home on an open coastal park in salt air weathers faster than the same home inland behind trees. You cannot change where the park is, so you compensate: wash the walls more often, repaint sooner, check the seals harder.

Everything else is cosmetic. Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and decor all wear out and all get replaced. None of them shortens the life of the home. Chassis and water are the two that do.

What to do, and how often

Park home lifespan and the maintenance that decides it. Costs are UK averages, Checkatrade 2026.

How often	What to do
Every month	Look for damp patches and condensation. Check air vents are clear. Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Twice a year	Clear gutters and downpipes. Clear debris from under the home. Wash down external walls. Check window and door seals and locks.
Every year	Service the boiler and heating. Gas and electrical safety checks. Inspect the chassis and jacks. Clear moss and algae off the roof. Protect pipes before winter.
Every few years	Repaint or re-treat the exterior. Replace worn fascias and soffits. Professional chassis corrosion treatment. Review insulation.

The five checks that matter most

1. Under the home

Twice a year, with a torch. You are looking for rust on the chassis rails and the support jacks, standing water, and anything stored under there that should not be. Debris under a home is a fire risk and it stops air moving, which keeps the steel damp.

2. Gutters and downpipes

Twice a year, more if you sit under trees. An overflowing gutter puts water down the wall and into the ground beside the home, and a gutter clean runs £50 to £150. If water is pooling by the downpipe, a soakaway costs around £750 and solves it permanently.

3. Ventilation and damp

Park homes are efficient and well sealed, which means the moisture you generate has to go somewhere. Blocked air vents are the usual culprit behind condensation and black mould around windows. Check them monthly, and never board one over because it feels draughty.

4. Windows, doors and seals

Open and close everything. Sticking doors can mean the home has settled and needs re-levelling on its jacks, which is a straightforward job and a serious one if left. Perished seals let water into frames, and frames are expensive.

5. The exterior finish

Repainting is not decoration. The finish is what keeps weather out of the wall behind it. Wash the walls twice a year, and repaint or re-treat before the coating starts failing rather than after.

What the bigger jobs cost

Job	Typical UK cost	When it comes round
Gutter clean	£50 to £150	Twice a year
Soakaway for downpipes	£750 average	Once, if drainage is poor
Fascia board replacement	£1,300 average	Every few decades, sooner if neglected
Chassis restoration	£2,500 to £5,000, £3,750 average	Only if corrosion is left to run
Re-roofing	£5,000 to £10,000, around £100 per m²	Around 30 years
Full external insulation	£10,000 to £14,000	Optional upgrade on an older home

Costs are UK averages from the Checkatrade cost guide, 2026. They move with home size, condition and where you are, so treat them as a guide and get local quotes.

Read that table next to the maintenance list and the argument makes itself. Twice-yearly gutter clearing is a few hundred pounds a decade. The damage it prevents starts at four figures.

Buying an older park home

An older home is not a worse home, and a 1990s home that has been looked after will outlast a 2015 home that has not. What you want to know is which one you are standing in.

Ask for the maintenance history. An owner who has cared for the home will have receipts and will enjoy showing you them.
Get under it, or get someone who will. A park home survey covers the chassis and the structure, and it costs a fraction of what it finds.
Check the roof age against the guarantee. A home approaching thirty years may have a re-roof coming, and that is a five-figure number to factor into your offer.
Look for the signs of past water. Fresh paint in one corner of one room, a new section of flooring, a wall that feels cold. Ask what was fixed and when.
Confirm the home is built to BS3632 if you intend to live in it all year. Holiday homes are not built to that standard, and the difference shows in insulation and in longevity.

“Age is not what kills a park home. Water is. I have seen homes from the seventies in better condition than homes from ten years ago, and every time the difference was whether anybody bothered to look underneath.”
Justin Allitt, Sell My Group

Frequently asked questions

How long do park homes last?

Between 40 and 70 years is the range usually quoted, and homes built in the 1960s are still occupied. A new home built to BS3632 and maintained properly is put at 70 to 80 years by manufacturers. The variation comes down to maintenance and exposure rather than to age.

Do park homes need more maintenance than a bricks and mortar house?

Not more, but different. There is no chassis under a house and no support jacks to check, and a park home has less roof and less wall to look after than most bungalows. The work is lighter and the consequences of skipping it arrive faster.

How often should a park home be repainted?

Every few years, and before the existing finish starts to fail rather than after. The coating is weather protection for the wall behind it, so treat it as maintenance rather than decoration.

What is the most expensive thing that can go wrong?

Chassis corrosion and a failed roof. Chassis restoration averages £3,750 and re-roofing runs £5,000 to £10,000. Both are avoidable for years with checks that cost nothing.

Can an old park home be brought back to modern standard?

Largely, yes. Chassis treatment, a new roof, external insulation, new windows and a refit will transform an older home, and full external insulation runs £10,000 to £14,000. Whether that is worth doing depends on the home and what an equivalent newer one would cost you.

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