Mis-sold a holiday home?

A holiday home is usually bought for the life it promises rather than the numbers behind it. Buyers are shown the lodge, the decking, the view, and the yearly costs come last.

When those costs turn out to be much larger than described, or the home is worth a fraction of what was suggested, owners are often left feeling foolish. Usually they were simply given a picture that was not complete.

This page sets out what mis-selling can look like with holiday homes and lodges, and how to have your own position looked at without committing to anything.

Check where you stand

What to look for

What counts as mis-selling with a holiday home

These are the situations owners most often describe. One of them alone may mean very little. Several together are usually worth a conversation.

The full cost of ownership was never laid out

Site fees are only part of it. Rates, insurance, gas and electricity, water, winterisation, decking, servicing and the charges that appear when you let the home all belong in the picture. Where the yearly total was reduced to a single comfortable figure, the sum you were shown was not the sum you agreed to.

You were told it was an investment

Holiday homes are not investments and a seller knows that. Owners are still told the home will hold its value, that demand on the park is strong, or that they will get most of their money back when they move on. If that reassurance was part of why you bought, the difference between it and reality matters.

Rental income figures did not stand up

Letting projections are often built on peak-season rates applied across a much longer season than a home realistically achieves, before commission and costs. Owners who were told the letting would cover their fees, and who now put money in every year, rarely got a fair picture of what the income would be after everything came off.

The length of your agreement was unclear

Holiday home agreements run for a fixed period and are renewed on terms the park sets. Where buyers are told they have the home for as long as they want it, without the renewal position being explained, the security they thought they had bought was never actually theirs.

You were not told how limited the resale market is

Selling a holiday home is not like selling a house. There may be restrictions on selling privately, commission on a sale, or an expectation that the park handles it. Owners who were told selling would be straightforward often find the only realistic buyer is the park itself, at the park's figure.

Occupancy rules were glossed over

A holiday home is not a permanent residence, and the park's licence will say so. Where that was softened at the point of sale, or a buyer was left with the impression they could live there or stay all year, the rule tends to surface much later and very firmly.

What to do next

Set out your actual yearly costs on one sheet of paper: every charge you have paid over the last twelve months, not the figure you were quoted. Owners are often surprised by their own total, and it is the clearest evidence there is of the gap between what was described and what happened.

Next, collect the documents. The sale agreement, the licence agreement and its renewal terms, any brochure or written projection you were given, and your annual invoices. Emails count too, particularly anything from the salesperson before you signed.

Write down what you were told verbally while you can still recall it clearly. Who said it, roughly when, and in as close to their own words as possible. If a partner or family member was there, their recollection is worth having as well.

Then use the free check below. It asks five short questions and nothing more. If your situation may have merit, someone will go through it with you in plain terms, and you decide whether to take it further.

There is no cost to you for the check or the call, and nothing is sent to your park at any stage without you agreeing to it first.

Check if you may have a claim — takes 30 seconds

Three short questions. There are no right or wrong answers, and nothing you enter commits you to anything.

What did you buy?

Question 1 of 3

Questions people ask

Is a lodge treated differently from a caravan?

Not for these purposes. What matters is what you were told when you bought and what your agreement actually allows, rather than how the unit is described in the brochure.

I still enjoy using the home. Is it worth asking?

Many people who enquire are still using and enjoying their holiday home. Asking about how it was sold to you does not mean giving anything up, and nothing changes for you while your position is being looked at.

The figures I was given were verbal. Does that matter?

Verbal figures still formed part of the sale. They are harder to evidence than a printed sheet, so anything you noted at the time, and anyone who heard the same figures, is worth mentioning.

What if I bought the home jointly?

That is very common and it does not complicate the initial check. Both owners can be involved in the conversation, and it usually helps, because two recollections of the sale are better than one.

Can I ask about a home I have already let go?

Yes. Owners who have sold, part-exchanged or handed the home back can still ask for their position to be reviewed. Keep the paperwork from the end of the arrangement, as the figures matter.

Mis-sold a caravan: where you stand
The main guide to caravan mis-selling and how to check your own position.
Mis-sold a static caravan
Depreciation, site age rules and the promises statics are most often sold on.
Compensation for a mis-sold caravan
What compensation is for and what affects it in practice.

Want to know where your holiday home leaves you?

The check takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing. You are not committing to anything by asking the question.