Park home insurance

No, park home insurance is not compulsory. However, you run the risk of suffering serious financial loss by not having a policy in place.

How much you choose to insure your park home for is up to you and will depend on the full cost of rebuilding your home to the same specification, plus any additional contents cover you may choose to include on your policy.

Through Ripe, you can cover your park home, including fixtures and fittings, up to the value of £500,000 and contents up to £75,000.

With Ripe, you can choose the level of park home insurance you need. The following cover can be included on park home insurance policies through Ripe:

• Buildings cover

• Theft, Fire and Flood Damage

• Public Liability

• Theft of Money

• Theft and Loss of Keys

• Frozen Food

• Vermin Damage

You can also choose to include optional extras, such as Contents cover up to £75,000 and Accidental Damage to your building.

Park home insurance through Ripe offers various policy excess options, which you can view when you get a quote. More information about excesses can be found in the Insurance Schedule.

Contents are classed as household goods or items intended for use in or about the home that are not permanently fitted.

Personal possessions are classed as property such as sports equipment, valuable items, clothing, baggage, bikes, or other similar items normally used outside the home.

No. With Ripe, you do not have to pay for your park home insurance policy upfront in one lump sum—although the option to do so is there should you prefer. Alternatively, monthly payment options are available at checkout.

Yes, park homes are usually designed to be your permanent place of residence. Residential park home sites normally have special licences granted by the relevant local authorities that allow you to live there full-time.

Residential rules may vary between sites, so always double-check and get confirmation before purchasing a park home or park home insurance.

A park home is a type of mobile home, so you may sometimes hear them referred to as such. Park homes are often manufactured off-site before being transported to your chosen location, and they can also be moved to different residential sites. This means that they are sometimes considered mobile homes.

Other types of mobile homes can include touring caravans, trailers, and motorhomes.

Park homes tend to have a lifespan of between 40 to 70 years on average, but they can last longer than this if properly maintained. Newly built park homes can even last for up to 80 years.

The simple answer is no. You can not get a mortgage on a park home. So, the buying process differs slightly from that of a traditional bricks-and-mortar home.

When you secure a mortgage, the lender will typically work out the value of the building plus the land it sits on. However, when you buy a park home, the difference is that you do not own the land—just the physical structure of the home itself.

Instead, the plot of land is leased from the site owners (hence site fees). And so, for this reason, mortgages are not available to prospective park home buyers.

If you want to buy a park home, you must source the required funds by other means.

Yes, you will need to pay council tax on a park home if it is your permanent or main residence. To work out your council tax, you’ll need to know the council tax band your park home is in, the amount your local council charges for that band, and whether you’re eligible for a discount.

You can pay your council tax across ten or twelve monthly payments by paying online, setting up a direct debit, or using cash payments at your local post office, bank, or newsagent. For further information on paying your council tax, visit the How Council Tax Works page on the UK Government website.

A park home is officially defined as a detached, single-storey residence that is permanently sited on a private park or estate.

Most park homes are constructed off-site and then transported to their final location on land owned by a private park operator or local authority. When purchasing a park home, you own the property itself but not the land it occupies. Instead, the plot is leased, and a site fee is paid to cover services and general maintenance of the park.