Park home, lodge, static caravan — the terms get used almost interchangeably, and that's where buyers get into trouble. Each one is built to a different standard, licensed for different use, and treated differently by the law. Get the category wrong, and you can end up trying to live permanently somewhere you're not legally allowed to.
Here's how the three actually differ, and which one fits what you're trying to do.
The difference at a glance
Park homes
A park home is built to the BS3632 residential standard — full insulation, central heating, double glazing — specifically so it can be lived in year-round. On a site with a residential licence, it can be your main and only address, and it's covered by the Mobile Homes Act 2013, which gives you statutory protection over pitch fees, park rules and eviction.
You own the home. You don't own the land — you rent the pitch under a written agreement, which is why park home finance works differently to a mortgage. No mainstream lender will secure against land you don't own.
Lodges
Lodges sit at the top end of the holiday home market: bigger than a static caravan, better specified, and — confusingly — often built to the same BS3632 standard as a park home. That build quality is what lets some parks offer an eleven- or twelve-month season.
But the build standard and the site licence are two separate things. A lodge on a holiday-licensed site is still a holiday home, whatever the season length says, and you can't register it as your main address unless the park specifically holds a residential licence. Some lodges are residential, most aren't — check the licence before you assume anything from the brochure.
Static caravans
Static caravans are built to the lighter EN1647 standard: fine for holidays, not designed or insulated for full-time living. They're the most affordable of the three to buy, and the most common home on a UK holiday park.
They sit outside the Mobile Homes Act entirely, holiday or otherwise, so you don't get the statutory protections a park home resident has. That doesn't mean caravan ownership is risky — it just means the contract with the park matters more, since the law provides less of a backstop. The running costs are worth budgeting properly before you buy, and some holiday parks run long seasons that still don't make it a legal main residence.
Why the licence matters more than the build
This is the single most common confusion. A holiday park that's open twelve months a year can feel residential. It isn't, unless the site itself holds a residential licence from the local council. That licence — not the build standard, not the season length, not what the sales team implies — decides whether you can legally live there full time.
The full breakdown of residential vs holiday licensing covers what changes once a site is genuinely residential: council tax banding, security of tenure, and how pitch fee reviews work. Ask to see the licence before you view a single home, on any of the three property types.
Which one is right for you?
Buying to live permanently: a park home on a residential-licensed park. Nothing else in this list gives you that legal right.
Buying a holiday home you'll use most of the year: a lodge, if season length and specification matter to you and budget allows. Check whether the park's licence extends further than the standard, in case a residential option exists on the same site.
Buying an affordable holiday home for occasional use: a static caravan. Lower purchase price, lower running costs, built for exactly that purpose.