Six considerations when hiring out your holiday caravan

Hiring out your holiday caravan could give you a welcome income boost and help pay for site fees, insurance, and maintenance or even paying off the cost of buying it.

Family hiring out a holiday caravan

In one of our community polls, 13 percent of voters said they hired out their holiday caravan for financial gain. If it’s something you’re considering there are a number of important things to check out first, not least making sure your caravan is properly insured. Here are six considerations when hiring out your holiday caravan

Does your park allow hiring out?

The key thing to check is that you’re allowed to hire out your static caravan or lodge by your park owner. It will be in the holiday park agreement, and these can vary from park to park. Some park operators will allow you to lend out your caravan to friends and family but not for financial gain.

Dog in static caravan

Or some parks allow hiring, but they want to manage the bookings and might charge a fee for doing so – this varies from park to park. There might also be restrictions, such as pets and age groups, so do check, and you might also want to consider if you’re going to have specific rules for guests when hiring out your holiday caravan too such as to bring their own bedding.

Does my existing insurance policy cover my static caravan for hiring out?

You should always contact your insurance provider if you’re thinking of hiring your holiday caravan. You might be able to add hiring out cover as an option to your current static caravan or holiday lodge insurance policy if it’s not included as standard.

Once you’ve added insurance for hiring out your holiday caravan to your policy you might be able to take advantage of loss of rental income cover which reimburses you the money you would have received for pre-arranged bookings if your holiday caravan becomes uninhabitable as a result of damage.

Remember, some hirers might not treat your caravan with the same care as you would and accidents will happen. Common claims from our customers who hire out are for damage to furniture or other fittings, such as ripped cushions, stained carpets, broken tables, cracked shower trays, and broken windows.

accidental damage

Hiring out cover is available to Leisuredays’ policyholders as an optional extra and will cover your holiday caravan for damage by the hirer, as well as loss of rental income if your unit becomes uninhabitable due to insured damage. Emergency alternative accommodation for guests is also another cover option on our policy giving them somewhere to continue their holidays should your caravan suffer insured damage that makes it uninhabitable during their stay.

It’s important to check you have such specialist insurance cover and also that it includes things such as public liability, which will cover both yourself and hiring guests for damages and costs if death, physical injury or damage to the public or third party property arises from an accident involving the static caravan or lodge.  See our policy booklet for full terms and conditions.

static caravan insurance

Note – if your static caravan or lodge is being used by family and friends for ‘no financial reward’, i.e. no money is exchanged, you might not need to notify your insurer, as is the case for Leisuredays insurance customers.

Who will manage the letting out of your holiday caravan?

There are different ways you can choose to promote and manage the hiring out of your static caravan or lodge. But one of the first considerations is at what time of year? Will you choose the peak holiday season and leave a few weeks for yourself or will it just be for set times throughout the year?

You can choose to manage the hiring yourself, possibly let your park manage it, or use a lettings website. There are listings sites such as UK Caravans4Hire or static-caravan.co.uk but you’ll have to pay an advertising fee for these sites. If your park manages the letting then they will expect a share of the rental fees you charge but in return they’ll be able to help you in terms of marketing, booking management, inventories, checking tenant details, cleaning, and maintenance.

If you’re doing it yourself then you’re going to have to make sure you keep a record of all bookings and your hirers’ details, as well as a detailed inventory to record any losses or breakages. It’s also worth having a separate bank account for keeping things like a booking deposit and a refundable deposit to cover for any breakages in one place.

You’ll also need to make sure the caravan is cleaned and inspected after every use, ready for the next hirer, and consider who is going to hand over and look after the keys.

Complying with laws and legislation

When hiring out your static caravan or lodge you need to be aware of your legal responsibilities. These are mainly to protect your guests from harm.

Each year, you must have a landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate displayed inside the caravan – which means having all gas appliances checked by a qualified engineer.

Annual Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is recommended for electrical items that you have plugged into your caravan such as TVs, DVD players, kettles, microwaves and toasters to protect hirers from faulty electrical equipment. Your caravan’s electrical wiring system will need to be tested every three years to receive a fixed electrical installation certificate. Again your park operator should be able to recommend a Gas Safe engineer or qualified electrician to complete these tests.

To make sure your holiday caravan is safe from fire, you must have a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector, that are both regularly tested, plus an in-date fire extinguisher and a fire blanket. You will also need a fire safety notice and details of what the hirer should do in case of an emergency should be clearly displayed.

checking static caravan fire extinguisher

You’ll also need a TV licence to cover use of a television inside your static caravan or lodge and specialist insurance with public liability cover is a must to protect you and your guests should someone be injured whilst staying in your unit.

Plus, you’ll need to let the taxman know that you’re letting out your static caravan or lodge as you will likely have to pay tax on your hiring out income – although you may be eligible for some tax relief. It’s worth speaking to a qualified accountant to help you manage tax returns with the HMRC.

How can I keep the rented caravan looking its best?

Maintaining a high standard of presentation and cleanliness is crucial if you want to keep customers coming back. Doing it yourself will keep costs down or enlisting the help of a friend or family member, but if you’re busy, live too far away, or are out of the country between lettings, it’s important that you arrange for cleaning by a third party. Consider employing a local cleaning company or check with your park owner as they might let you pay to have the park’s cleaning team do the work.

holiday caravan park

Make sure you leave guests with the right items or equipment needed for a pleasant stay. Things like clean towels, fresh linen, duvets and pillows are often provided as part of the hire charge, even though some guests may prefer to bring their own. Guests will also expect basic kitchen equipment, cutlery, crockery and cooking utensils, as well as cleaning equipment.

hiring out your holiday caravan equipment

Going the extra mile by providing outdoor and indoor toys, games and a booklet detailing things like local activities, places to eat, emergency contact details, safety notices and instructions, and even local attraction leaflets will keep your guests happy and might have them coming back for more!

Remember, the more often you hire out the caravan, the more it’s going to suffer from general wear and tear and you’re going to have to be ready to deal with the odd emergency, such as repair of broken fixtures and fittings, dealing with a broken down boiler, or a blown fuse. You’re going to need someone on hand to respond to these quickly. Your park owner could be best placed to help you here – unless you’re close by.

One extra factor to bear in mind is the extra wear and tear could make your caravan depreciate in value quicker and mean you need to upgrade sooner but hopefully rental income will more than cover this.

How do I organise handing the keys over?

If you live locally to your park you should have no problem handing keys over from guest to guest. Those who live further away might find this a bit more difficult. Again, your park might be able to manage keys on your behalf. If not, you might have to entrust someone local such as your cleaner to meet guests upon arrival with keys.

What should I charge?

Always do your homework; have a look online, check the local papers, or speak to your neighbours on the park. The more research you do the better idea you’ll have as to what’s a competitive price to charge people for holidays in a caravan or lodge of your size in your park’s location etc.

Remember to take into account the condition and size of your holiday caravan – number of berths is a big factor of course. You could obviously expect to charge more for a newer, more modern caravan or lodge sited within a short distance of local amenities and attractions, but older caravans with fewer amenities nearby are obviously priced cheaper. The facilities and location of your park will inevitably influence the prices charged.

holiday activities family time

If you’re hiring out during peak season, i.e. school holidays, Bank Holiday weekends, you should be prepared to increase your prices in line with increased demand.  Likewise be prepared to drop your price at the start or end of the season. It’s always possible to search for school term dates and bank holiday dates online to help your plan your seasonal pricing strategy.

If the demand for hiring out your holiday caravan is strong, it’s a good idea to be quite strict in the length of time you allow bookings rather than allowing hirers to choose whatever days they want so as to minimise periods where your caravan is left empty. You could offer full-week stays, or Monday to Thursday mid-week getaways complemented by Friday to Sunday short weekend breaks. You’ll need to factor in some time for cleaning, so your conditions on hiring will probably need to stipulate that guests have to be out of the caravan by 12pm on the day of departure to allow cleaners to prepare it for the next guests.

How do I market my caravan letting?

Fortunately, you can attract customers to hire your holiday caravan without spending large sums of money. Word of mouth is key; tell your friends, tell other people on your park and ask that they spread the word.

Social media is another great way to bring in business and it’s free! Upload details of your letting, tag or tweet local businesses, organisations or groups on Facebook and Twitter and you should begin to see a significant increase in enquiries.

Advertising in a local paper could also work, and so too could uploading a post to any of the popular static caravan or holiday lodge forums.

There are of course websites where you can list your holiday caravan for hire in exchange for a small fee. They may even manage bookings for you.

It’s worth looking at how other owners have described their holiday caravans in adverts to make sure your listing contains all the necessary information but also stands out from the crowd; good quality photos of the caravan inside and out, a list of key features of the caravan and the equipment provided, plus details of amenities in the surrounding area and on the park, are often included.

Also consider, linking up to a review website to help increase the chances of more people hiring out your holiday caravan.

For more hiring out advice…

We recommend speaking to your park owner for more information about hiring out your static caravan or lodge.

What’s your experience of hiring out your holiday caravan?

Would you recommend it to other holiday caravan owners? Got any other hints and tips for hiring to share? Feel free to leave them in the comments box below.

And for more information about our hiring out insurance cover take a closer look at our static caravan or holiday lodge insurance policy, or call our team seven-days-a-week using the number at the top of the page.

16 comments on “Six considerations when hiring out your holiday caravan

  1. We have just renewed our caravan insurance with you but have not received paperwork. Our site Leakes East Runton need a copy on site as well.
    Regards
    Janet Wright

    1. Hi Janet,

      Apologies about that. If you could ring our Contact Centre on 0800 14 88 414 or 01422 396 770 (mobile friendly), one of our advisers would be happy to help. Unfortunately we can’t issue paperwork without knowing all your details. I’m sure you would rather keep this private information offline.

      Many thanks

      Leisuredays

  2. Does a caravan site require insurance to cover anyone who rents out there caravans belongings encase of loss or theft ?

    1. Hi Mark,

      It’s up to the owner of the static caravan or lodge to ensure they’re covered for loss or theft. The park wouldn’t be responsible for this. That’s why it’s so important to check that hire out features are included under the policy.

      Thanks
      Leisuredays

  3. Please can you let me know if it is required by law to have the shower disinfected against Legionaires disease before renting out to people?

    1. HI Gillian,

      Thanks for your query. According to the Health and Safety Executive Website (HSE) landlords of all types are responsible for “ensuring that the risk of exposure to legionella in those premises is properly assessed and controlled.” Click here to see the FAQ page and select the ‘As a landlord, what are my duties?’ option for full details.

      I hope this helps.

      Many thanks

      Lucie

  4. I had a caravan fire due to supposedly a towel on a radiator losing everything the caravan was rented directly from the site but they refuse to pay for losses are they liable or is it just unlucky ? Ps there welcome pack states 25 pound deposit this is for anh loss or damage whilst staying in our caravans thanks

    1. Hi Mark,

      We’re sorry to hear that. Unfortunately we can’t say who is and isn’t liable as parks can often set their own liability terms. We would advise that you check again with the park operator and have a close read through the small print on your booking terms in details for further clarification.

      Sorry I can’t be of more assistance on this occasion.

      Lucie
      Leisuredays

  5. How old does your caravan need to be to let it out I heard you can let it out if it’s over five years old

    1. Hi Gina, Hiring out cover can apply to any caravan we insure regardless of age. Our policy can cover caravans up to 25 years old.

  6. When hiring a caravan from a private owner do they need to give you a contract and receipts for any transactions when you’ve booked a holiday with them?

    1. Hi Kim
      We just provide the insurance cover for owners who let out their caravans. We’re not sure of what the owner needs to provide to someone hiring their caravan. It’s a good question though so we will try to look into more.
      It probably makes sense to get at least a confirmation email or signed letter from the owner, confirming the dates of the booking and the amount paid and of course any terms of the hire.
      Thanks

  7. Well…I have just bought a second hand static caravan on a very , busy popular site in Barmouth , Gwynedd.. I was quite surprised about a comment made by a gentleman who said very negative things about hiring your caravan out. Saying there is no money in it….I hope to hire mine out from Aug this year..already taking bookings.. Going very slowly & steady at it..this season.. With some fab opening offers for friends….I want feedback & honesty this year.. There maybe one or two teething problems …hopefully not..but the prices you can charge in the peek months..is crazy…I can’t understand we he said such negative things.. Very off putting for someone about to start out in a new business venture. …some people on this site I am going on own several caravans .they wouldn’t be doing that if there was no profit in it….!!

  8. If we buy a lodge and rent it out,do we pay tax on the income,Or only pay tax when we have received rent to the value of our lodge purchase .

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