If you own a static caravan, your holiday home is almost certainly too good to let go to waste whenever you’re unable to use it. However, tempting it might be, there are occasions when neither you nor your family are able to enjoy your static home.
Those are the times when you might think about renting out your holiday home – and earn yourself a little extra cash into the bargain.
How do I do it?
Your static holiday home sits on a site that you lease from the caravan park’s owners – and you have a lease agreement to that effect.
If you want to rent out your static caravan, therefore, your first question is whether such a move is permitted under the terms of your lease. You can get the answer easily enough simply by asking the management or owners of the site.
Indeed, by asking the question, you may well find that the site owners are very much on your side. With their support – but probably at the cost of a commission on any rental income you earn – site owners or management may often offer to advertise and make any lettings on your behalf. That could be a convenience well worth any commission you need to pay.
Either way, of course, you must be prepared to comply with any conditions applied by the owners whenever you rent out your holiday home – whether your tenants can bring pets with them, for instance, or any restrictions on the number of cars that can be parked on or near to your caravan’s pitch.
Insurance
You will want to be assured that your holiday home remains fully insured whenever you have holidaymaking tenants in your static caravan. Your static caravan insurance typically may not include this cover as standard.
Checking whether you are covered for these periods is a simple matter of picking up the telephone and giving us a call on 01702 606301.
Your obligations as a landlord
It might not have been something that occurred to you but whenever you rent out your holiday home, you automatically become a landlord for the duration.
As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) notes, the definition of a landlord is extremely broad and embraces not only standard houses and flats but also caravans.
As a landlord, you are bound by a wide range of legal responsibilities bearing on the health and safety of your tenants.
Although there are slightly different rules for landlords in Scotland and Northern Ireland, in England and Wales, you must ensure that:
- all gas and electrical installations and appliances are safe and properly maintained;
- you have an up to date Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for your holiday home.
Summary
It would be a shame to see your static holiday home go to waste with no one using it. Renting it out will allow others the enjoyment of your caravan – and may earn you some valuable extra cash.
Although the business of letting it out is likely to prove fairly straightforward, you must get the permission of the site owners or management, abide by any conditions they might apply, and ensure that you continue to be covered by the relevant static caravan insurance policy.
Remember, too, that however short-term the arrangement might be, you take on the legal responsibilities of a landlord once you rent out your static holiday home.