Buy to Let Holiday Lodges: All You Need to Know

Holiday home letting can be a fantastic way to offset costs and share your lovely lodge with other holidaymakers. But is it as simple as handing over the keys? 

Park rules, planning permissions, tax criteria and specialist insurance all play a part in determining whether it’s worth buying a holiday lodge to let out. This expert guide walks you through everything you need to know about setting up a holiday let.

Key takeaways:

– Letting out your holiday lodge can offset ownership costs and bring in income

– Understanding what running a buy to let involves will help you navigate the legal landscape and the guest management process

If you buy a holiday lodge with us, our Love To Let service makes things easier

What are buy to let holiday lodges?

Buy to let holiday lodges are purpose-built, fully furnished leisure homes designed for short-stay guests. Unlike residential properties, they sit on parks that hold the correct holiday licences, meaning they can only be used as holiday accommodation rather than a full-time residence.

Owners can enjoy the lodge themselves for part of the year and let it out during other times to generate income. Many holidaymakers now prefer lodge stays for their privacy, comfort, and scenic surroundings – so there is usually year-round demand for renting out your lodge.

Can you rent out a holiday lodge?

In most cases you can rent out a holiday lodge. However, the ability to let your lodge isn’t automatic. The key considerations are:

Your ownership agreement: The specifics you’ve agreed to.

Park rules: Every holiday park has its own terms, restrictions and procedures around letting.

Park licensing: Only parks with the correct holiday licence (not a residential licence) can legally allow guest stays.

Lovat Parks’ Love To Let

Lovat Parks makes holiday letting simple and stress-free through our Love To Let managed service, designed for owners who want a reliable income without the hassle of running a rental business.

Key benefits include:

• Fully Managed Bookings: Lovat Parks handles marketing, pricing, enquiries, guest communication and secure payment processing.
• Professional Housekeeping & Maintenance: Your lodge is cleaned, inspected and maintained to high standards between every booking.
• Expert Revenue Management: Benefit from our pricing strategies and peak-period demand across Lovat Parks’ popular coastal and countryside hotspots.

Peace of Mind: With on-park teams available daily, both owners and guests enjoy security, support and an exceptional holiday experience.

What’s needed for holiday letting? Legal and regulatory

Buy to let holiday lodges in the UK come with legal requirements. Understanding these early helps avoid costly mistakes.

Do I need planning permission for a holiday let?

In most cases, you won’t need to apply for your own planning permission. Holiday parks already operate under their own planning consents.

However, there are situations where planning rules may affect how your lodge can be used:

• ‘Use Classes’: holiday lets are seen as different to second homes or main residences. A newly proposed C5 ‘Short-Term Let’ use class could soon apply to properties used as furnished holiday accommodation. While this mainly impacts residential properties converted into holiday lets, it’s important for holiday lodge owners to be aware of emerging rules.
• Article 4 Directions: Local councils can issue Article 4 directions, restricting short-term lets in certain hotspots. These typically affect urban areas (e.g., London, parts of Cornwall). Although, holiday parks with established planning use are usually exempt.

Top Tip: Always check your lodge’s existing permissions.

Your park operator (e.g. Lovat Parks)  will confirm:

• The type of planning licence in place
• Whether letting is permitted
• Any seasonal restrictions
• Occupancy limits
• How the lodge must be used throughout the year

This is why buying on a reputable park is essential.

What is the ’10-year rule’ for buy to let holiday lodges?

The 10-year rule refers to a principle in planning law:

If a property has been used as a holiday let continuously for 10 years without enforcement action, that use may become lawful through established use.

This does not grant permanent residential rights but can help protect the continued use of a lodge as holiday accommodation, if planning issues arise.

Most purpose-built holiday parks already have established rights, so the 10-year rule is more relevant to homeowners converting residential properties into holiday lets. Still, it’s useful background knowledge when researching the sector.

Holiday home letting insurance

Standard holiday home insurance isn’t enough if you plan to let out your lodge.

You will need specialist holiday home letting insurance, which typically includes:

• Public liability cover (often £2m–£5m)
• Loss of income if your lodge becomes unusable due to an insured event
• Accidental damage cover for guests
• Employer’s liability if you hire cleaners or tradespeople
• Legal expenses protection
• Contents and fixture insurance
• Many parks require certain insurance levels as part of their letting agreement
• Lovat Parks can recommend trusted insurers who specialise in holiday lodge letting cover

What happened to the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax status?

You may have heard of Furnished Holiday Letting (FHL) status, sometimes referred to as a ‘tax loophole’ for holiday lets. This used to give owners some generous tax perks – but that special status was scrapped from 6 April 2025 (1 April 2025 for limited companies).

Holiday lets are now taxed just like any other rental property. Here’s what that means in practice:

• Mortgage costs: You used to be able to deduct your full mortgage interest from your rental income before working out your tax bill. Now you can only get a smaller, capped amount back – the same rule that already applied to ordinary buy-to-let landlords.
• Furniture and equipment: Buying new furniture, kitchen appliances or fixtures for your lodge used to come with extra tax relief. That’s gone for anything bought from April 2025 onwards – though you can still get relief when you replace worn-out items.
• Selling your lodge: There used to be some generous tax breaks if you sold your holiday let at a profit. Those have mostly disappeared, so selling now is likely to be taxed more like selling any other rental property.
• Pensions: Income from your holiday let used to count towards your pension allowance calculations. It no longer does.
• Jointly owned lodges: If you own your lodge with a partner or spouse, profits used to be split however suited you both for tax purposes. Now, by default, they’re split 50/50.

What this means for you: Letting a holiday lodge is still a great way to bring in income and offset your costs – none of that has changed. It’s simply taxed the same way as a normal rental property now, rather than getting its own special treatment.

N.B.: These changes apply whether you own a lodge, caravan or holiday home – and whether it’s on a managed park like ours or a standalone site. Site fees, utilities and other running costs are still allowable expenses against your letting income. Tax rules can change, and everyone’s situation is different, so always speak to a qualified tax adviser before making decisions based on your own circumstances.

Earning potential and running costs

It’s also important to know about the costs and processes involved in running a let. 

Holiday lodge letting income varies based on:

• Location
• Lodge size and specification
• Time of year
• Quality of the park
• Interior design and guest amenities

Expenses that can be offset by letting your holiday lodge:

• Pitch and site fees
• Utilities
• Cleaning and laundry
• Repairs and maintenance
• Insurance
• Bookings platform fees (if self-managing)
• Depreciation on fixtures and fittings

If you take on all of the guest management, expect to handle booking enquiries, check-ins and -outs, guest communication, emergencies, cleaning turnaround, reviews and payments.

Furnishing, presentation and maintenance

It’s best to make your lodge attractive, welcoming and easy to maintain if you buy with the goal of letting out.

Think of easy-clean floors, neutral colours, hotel-quality linens and modern appliances – all touches your guests will notice. First impressions matter – both in person and in photos.

What’s more, regular checks ensure safety and avoid costly repairs later. 

Your routine should include:

• Annual gas and electrical safety tests
• Boiler servicing
• Decking and exterior cleaning
• Deep cleans each season
• Rapid response to any reported issues

Making the decision: Is letting right for you?

Holiday lodge letting can be a rewarding way to offset costs and make the most of your property – especially in the months you’re not using it. 

But letting comes hand-in-hand with responsibilities, depending on how much of the guest management you take on.

With Lovat Parks’ Love To Let, you can enjoy all the advantages of holiday home letting while leaving the hard work to an expert, on-park team. Whether you’re exploring buy to let holiday lodges for the first time or looking to optimise an existing home, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Learn more about Love to Let.

FAQs: Buying a holiday home to rent out

What are the regulations for holiday lets in the UK?
Holiday lets are governed by a mix of park/site licensing, planning use class rules and – depending on volume – local council registration schemes now rolling out in some areas. On a managed park like Lovat’s, the park itself holds the holiday-use licence, so individual owners don’t need separate planning permission, but you’re still bound by your ownership agreement and park rules on letting.

How do I start a holiday let business?
Starting a holiday let business generally means: securing a property on land with the correct holiday-use licence, arranging specialist letting insurance, deciding how much guest management you’ll handle yourself versus outsourcing it and understanding the tax treatment of rental income (see below). Buying on an established park removes much of the planning and licensing risk from day one.

What should I know before buying a holiday home to rent out?
Check three things before you buy: whether letting is permitted under the site’s licence, what the park’s own letting rules and revenue share (if any) look like and what specialist insurance will cost. It’s also worth asking whether a managed letting service is available, so you’re not building booking and cleaning logistics from scratch.

Is buying a holiday let a good investment?
It can be, but returns depend on location, demand, running costs and how the site is licensed. We’ve covered this in detail here.

How do I set up a holiday let on a park?
On a managed park, setup is largely handled for you: the park’s licence already covers holiday use, and services like Lovat Parks’ Love To Let take care of marketing, bookings, housekeeping and guest communication, so ‘setting up’ mostly means confirming your ownership agreement’s letting terms and choosing your insurance.

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