HUGE RISE IN SITE FEES
This year caravan owners in the UK are facing a massive 20% increase in their annual site fees because of 11.8% added on in line broadly with inflation by Haven for instance and the 12.5% special VAT rate has gone back to 20%. They cannot simply sell up/get out without losing a significant chunk of money because of the flaws in this unregulated industry.

HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
Owners are being asked to find £1-2k more this year and have been given very short notice to have to find this as the caravan park companies like to be paid in advance of opening (March usually) and direct debit is only for 6 months. 

For purely having their caravan on the site and maintenance of the site owners might pay £8,000 per year in some parts of the country. Slightly less up North. Costs more for lodges and more if you have lake/sea view etc. This is excluding business rates, water, gas and electric (all increased in price too) and a host of other ways the caravan parks make money from the owners such as insisting decks are only purchased from them at vastly over inflated cost and not letting owners sell second hand decks between them.

THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH VAN OWNERSHIP
Caravans depreciate perhaps worse than any other asset and cannot really be called an asset at all. Many owners are having to sell up or cannot afford to. If nothing is done thousands of hard working people will lose tens of thousands of pounds each. We urge the UK government to make the VAT 5% again until the inflation rate reduces to where it was at, to soften this blow in a particularly complex industry where the owners are the losers financially even before an economic downturn.

HIGH EXIT COST
The caravan park industry lacks regulation which is another issue that needs addressing. When you cannot afford to continue that is when you lose the most, as parks won't take a caravan they have not sold to make margin on so you cannot move it without paying some £12k plus for the privilege, they will offer you £6k for the ex rental caravan you bought for £25k from them the year before. You might still have finance on it too that they sold you so you will get stung with that too.

Very hard to get a private sale to go through as site need to okay it and drag their feet and must give you their ridiculously low offer first and when you do sell, you must give them 12.5% plus VAT in commission. Every way you lose unless you hang on to your caravan for decade plus on same park and same pitch and the site fees do not increase massively. But they have increased massively!

Caravan owners once they purchase are in a complete bind and at the mercy of caravan park sites - some of whom are terrible bullies, force people off at the owner's huge loss in order to make more money by re-selling the pitch and the practice of mis-selling at the outset also occurs. Above are only some of the ways you can be burnt by buying a caravan in the UK at present.

CAN YOU RENT IT OUT TO HELP?
Well you used to be able to while people had money to spend on going away. Many have to rent out to cover the costs of getting to use it themselves sometimes. With the high cost of living nightly prices have been reduced and there are less people that can afford to take a holiday so is becoming less viable. Haven offer to let out for you and a measly £80 back for three night weekend is not going to help you claw back the site fee, insurance, gas and electric tests or repairs which can be expensive eg £1400 to fix walls after children peeled off bits of wallpaper. One owner in six weeks of letting out with Haven had a kicked in broken toilet door, sticky carpet and missing grill pan so understandably many do not want to rent out their van. And some parks do not allow private rentals so this way to help pay for it is eliminated.

WHAT WE PETITION FOR
The inflation rate being so very high was unexpected. Add to that the full VAT being charged this makes it crippling financially for many owners. 

We urge the government to reduce the VAT to 5% on site fees as they did at the start of the pandemic to avoid owners having to make the decision to sell and incur tens of thousands of loss times many thousands of people.

We also ask the government to make caravan parks accept payments over 12 months minimum. Haven for example offer you option to pay over 6 months of December to May but your caravan will only start to pay for itself in rental income when the season gets going in May. In the mean time that could be £1,150 per month to find. Add to that increased fuel bills and potentially mortgage payments if not fixed.

We also ask them to regulate this industry to stop people be so taken advantage of financially but that is not the point of this petition. It needed to be explained though how caravan owners are in a vulnerable position due to industry wide sharp practices and high exit cost, while we do acknowledge that owning one is seen as a luxury.