Planning Permission for Mobile Homes & Static Caravans: Complete UK Guide

01

The Legal Definition: What Counts as a Caravan?

This is where it gets interesting. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (s29(1)) and the Caravan Sites Act 1968 (s13), a "caravan" is defined as any structure that is:

• Designed or adapted for human habitation
• Capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed or transported on a vehicle)

The 1968 Act added the "twin-unit" definition for larger structures. A twin-unit caravan can be up to:

• 20 metres long (65.6 feet)
• 6.8 metres wide (22.3 feet)
• 3.05 metres high (10 feet, measured internally)

This means many structures that look like permanent buildings — including large static caravans and park homes — legally qualify as caravans, which affects the planning rules that apply.

Why the Definition Matters

If a structure meets the legal definition of a caravan, it benefits from certain planning exemptions that don't apply to conventional buildings. However, the use of land for stationing caravans still requires planning permission in most cases.

02

Do You Need Planning Permission for a Mobile Home?

The answer depends on where you're putting it and what you're using it for.

Mobile Home in Your Garden: For Ancillary Use

If you want to place a mobile home or static caravan in your garden for use ancillary to the main dwelling (such as a guest room, home office, or extra living space), you may not need planning permission — but this depends on several factors:

Usually no planning permission needed if:

• It's within the curtilage (garden) of your house
• It's genuinely used for purposes incidental to the enjoyment of the house (guest room, home office, hobby space), not as a separate home
• It stays a caravan in law: a structure designed or adapted for living in that is capable of being moved (1960 Act s29(1)), and for a twin-unit, no larger than 20m long, 6.8m wide and 3.05m internal height (1968 Act s13)

This is not permitted development under the outbuilding rules. You may read that a garden caravan must meet the Class E outbuilding size limits (2.5m high near a boundary, 50% of the garden and so on). Those limits apply to buildings. Stationing a caravan is a use of land, and using land within the curtilage of a house for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the house is not development at all (TCPA 1990 s55(2)(d)). No site licence is needed for that incidental use either (1960 Act Sch 1 para 1). If the structure is fixed down or altered so it is no longer a caravan, it can become a building, and the outbuilding rules or a planning application then apply.

🔍 Affected by this? Check planning applications near you →

Mobile Home as a Separate Dwelling

If you want someone to live in a mobile home as their independent primary residence (not ancillary to the main house), this constitutes a material change of use of the land and requires planning permission — see our guide to planning permission for change of use for a full explanation of how use classes work. This is the case regardless of the structure's size.

Key indicators that a mobile home is a separate dwelling (not ancillary):

• It has its own separate entrance from outside the property
• The occupant has no functional connection to the main house
• It has independent utility connections
• Council tax is charged separately
• The occupant comes and goes independently

Mobile Home on Agricultural Land

Agricultural workers' dwellings are a specific planning category. If you're a farmer or agricultural worker and need to live on or near the land for operational reasons, you may be able to get planning permission for a mobile home as a temporary agricultural dwelling.

This is often used as a "test period" — the council grants permission for a mobile home for 3-5 years to demonstrate that the agricultural enterprise is viable before considering a permanent dwelling.

Requirements typically include:

• An essential need for a worker to live on-site
• The enterprise must be established and viable (or planned to become viable)
• No suitable alternative accommodation available nearby
• A functional need assessment

Caravan Sites and Holiday Parks

Establishing a caravan site (whether for residential or holiday use) requires both:

1. Planning permission for the use of land as a caravan site
2. A caravan site licence from the council

These are separate legal requirements. Having one doesn't automatically grant the other.

03

Caravan Site Licences

Once you have planning permission for a caravan site, you need to apply to the council for a caravan site licence under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.

The site licence sets conditions for:

• Number and density of caravans
• Layout and spacing
• Fire safety and emergency access
• Services (water, drainage, electricity)
• Maintenance standards
• Site management

Exemptions from Site Licensing

Certain uses are exempt from the requirement for a site licence:

• Incidental use within the curtilage of a dwelling
• Land occupied by a local authority
• Sites approved by exempted organisations (such as the Caravan and Motorhome Club)
• Land used for agricultural or forestry workers
• A person travelling with a caravan for no more than two nights, and holdings of five acres or more where caravans are stationed on no more than 28 days in 12 months, with no more than three at a time (1960 Act Sch 1 paras 2–3). Uses covered by Sch 1 paras 2 to 10 also have planning permission under GPDO Part 5 Class A; this is separate from the GPDO 28-day rule, which does not cover caravans
• Building and engineering sites (for workers' accommodation)

04

The 28-Day Rule for Temporary Use

Under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (Part 4 Class B), you can use land for any purpose for up to 28 days per calendar year without planning permission. You may read that this covers stationing caravans. It does not: Class B excludes "the siting of any caravan", except a motorhome sited in connection with a festival (B.1(c)), and it excludes camping except in connection with a festival (B.1(f)).

Other restrictions:

• The 28 days are cumulative — not 28 consecutive days
• No more than 14 days can be used for markets or motor racing
• This doesn't apply to land that is a building or within the curtilage of a building (B.1(b))
• Short caravan stays rely instead on the site licence exemptions in Schedule 1 to the 1960 Act, which GPDO Part 5 Class A turns into a planning permission while those circumstances last

05

Planning Considerations for Mobile Home Applications

When assessing planning applications involving mobile homes, councils consider:

Visual Impact

Mobile homes and static caravans are often visible in the landscape. Councils may require:

• Screening through landscaping
• Colour restrictions (typically green or brown)
• Limitations on external alterations
• Siting in less prominent positions

Highway Access

Adequate access and parking must be provided. For caravan sites, the access needs to accommodate large vehicles delivering static caravans.

Drainage and Utilities

Adequate water supply, sewage disposal, and electricity connections are required. For rural sites, this may mean private treatment plants or septic tanks.

Residential Amenity

The impact on neighbouring properties from noise, activity, and visual intrusion is assessed as with any planning application.

Flood Risk

Many mobile home parks are in low-lying areas near rivers or the coast. Caravans are classified as highly vulnerable uses in the flood risk sequential test, meaning they should not be located in Flood Zone 3 unless exceptional circumstances apply.

06

Living Permanently in a Mobile Home

If you want to live permanently in a mobile home (sometimes called a "park home"), you need to find a residential mobile home park with the appropriate planning permission and site licence.

Residents of permanent residential parks have significant legal protections under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (as amended by the Mobile Homes Act 2013), including:

• Security of tenure — you can't be evicted without a court order
• Right to sell your home on the open market
• Protection from unfair pitch fees
• Right to form a residents' association
• Right to a written agreement

Buying a Park Home

Park homes are sold as the structure only — you don't own the land beneath them. Instead, you pay a pitch fee to the site owner. This is reviewed annually, and there is a presumption that any increase will be no more than the change in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) over the previous 12 months (Mobile Homes Act 1983 Sch 1 Pt 1 Ch 2 para 20). CPI replaced RPI as the benchmark from 2 July 2023 under the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Act 2023.

🔍 Affected by this? Check planning applications near you →

07

Enforcement Issues with Mobile Homes

Mobile homes are a common source of planning enforcement complaints. If a mobile home has been placed in a garden and used as a separate dwelling without planning permission, retrospective planning permission can be applied for — but approval is not guaranteed, particularly in Green Belt locations or where the council has strong policies against backland development. The council may require removal if refused. Common enforcement issues include:

• Mobile homes placed in gardens without permission when used as separate dwellings
• Exceeding the number of caravans permitted on a licensed site
• Residential use of holiday caravan sites (a frequent issue in coastal areas)
• Mobile homes on agricultural land without a genuine agricultural need
• Structures that no longer meet the legal definition of a caravan (because they've been modified to become permanent)

When a Caravan Stops Being a Caravan

If a mobile home is modified so that it can no longer be moved (for example, by building permanent foundations, brick walls around the base, or permanent extensions), it may lose its legal status as a caravan and become a building requiring planning permission in its own right.