Universal Credit and living in a holiday park home with SEN child

[Peachandsour]

I’m hoping someone might have been in a similar situation with a SEN child and can offer some advice pls.

I’m due to receive around £50,000 from the sale of my house (court ordered sale) following my divorce. Unfortunately, because of mortgage arrears caused by my ex, I can’t get a mortgage, and due to the current rental checks I’ve been unable to rent despite trying every option. The council and homelessness team have no suitable accommodation locally, and I’m facing homelessness within the next four weeks with my autistic 7-year-old daughter.

The only realistic option near her school and our support network is to buy a holiday park home, as all the residential park homes locally are over-55s.

My question is: Has anyone bought a holiday home to live in while claiming Universal Credit or other DWP benefits? How did the DWP treat it? Did they class it as an asset even though it was your home, or did it affect your benefits?
Please, I’m only looking for advice from anyone who’s been through this or knows how it works. I know holiday homes have site fees and closing periods as my friend lives there (she doesnt receive UC), and I’ve already explored renting and other housing options.
I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you.

I think you need to keep looking before resorting to the holiday home option. Many resorts prevent you from staying 52 weeks a year plus the homes themselves lose value, never gain it. You may even be forced to buy a new home by the park once the existing home reaches a certain age.

Please check with a good broker about mortgage options. Also look at the charity called Surviving Economic Abuse and see if they have any advice re ex causing mortgage arrears.

Please don’t do this, I have a friend that bought one as a holiday home and her service charge (in a relatively inexpensive area) has increased hugely over the past few years, it’s now £8k per year.

It's not an asset if you're living in it.

there are a site charges and you can’t stay year round, some will tell you what months they are closed for. This will never be a viable long term solution

As I said above, I know all about this. My best friend lives there , would just like to know about UC ……..

I agree, but the social worker is suggesting my daughter go live with her dad, I can’t even bare to think about being parted from her…I’m desperate at this point and all else I can do is pay to live in a travel lodge. She will not manage with her autism

Can you see if anyone wants a lodger. Probably better if you could get one with 2 rooms (one to sleep and one to sit in).

Join the holiday park action group on Facebook op. This is a v bad idea for many reasons.

Do you have any friends in the area who’d let you buy a campervan or caravan and park it on their land? Is the holiday home really the only only option?

My understanding is that you can still claim UC if you have an asset like a house that you are living in, they don’t make people sell their homes before being able to claim. The home that you actually live in does not count as capital.

Does the site have legal residential status and would the caravan be your registered permanent address?

Soeak to Shelter, they have a page about this scenario but detail is limited - https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/help_from_benefits_if_you_live_in_a_mobile_home

• Residential Status: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognizes your site rent or pitch fees as legitimate housing costs. Your claim is typically processed without extra scrutiny.
• Holiday Status: Claiming the housing element is highly difficult. Because holiday parks usually require you to vacate for a few weeks each year, the DWP often rules that the caravan is not your permanent, primary residence.

If youve got 50K from the house sale, couldnt you pay for a years rent upfront?

This is what chat GPT said

Based on what you’ve described, I think your plan is understandable and, in your circumstances, it may be the least bad option—but I would be very cautious before putting your entire £50,000 into a holiday home.
My thoughts are:

• Universal Credit: If you genuinely live in a property as your home, the value of the home you occupy is normally disregarded as capital for UC. The difficulty isn’t so much the benefit rules as the fact that a holiday park home is not legally intended to be a permanent residence on many sites. That creates uncertainty.
• The bigger risk is the site, not the DWP. Most holiday parks have licence conditions that prohibit permanent residence and often have a closed season. Even if people do live there year-round, the park owner could enforce the licence terms, or the local authority could take issue with permanent occupation. That could leave you in another housing crisis after you’ve spent your £50,000.
• Your daughter’s needs matter. Given that she’s autistic, keeping her close to her school and support network is a very strong reason for trying to stay local. A move away from her routine could have a significant impact. If the holiday home is genuinely the only option that keeps that stability while you rebuild your finances, I can understand why you’re considering it.
• I’d want specialist advice before buying. Not because I think it’s a bad idea, but because £50,000 is a huge amount of money. I’d want confirmation from a welfare rights adviser (or Citizens Advice) about the UC implications and from a solicitor familiar with park homes about the legal position of living on that particular site.

One thing that also stands out is that you’ve said the council is aware you’re facing homelessness with a child. If your daughter is dependent on you and you’re homeless within four weeks, the council has legal duties to assess and assist you. They may not have local housing immediately available, but I wouldn’t stop pushing them, especially given your daughter’s additional needs. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t dismiss the holiday home, but I also wouldn’t hand over the £50,000 until I’d had clear answers to these questions:

1. Does the park permit year-round occupation, or is it strictly holiday use?
2. What happens during the closed period?
3. How will UC treat your circumstances?
4. Will buying it affect the council’s homelessness duty toward you?

Your situation doesn’t sound like someone trying to protect assets or exploit the system—it sounds like you’re trying to keep a roof over your head and maintain stability for your daughter. The challenge is making sure the solution you choose doesn’t create a different problem six months down the line. I hope you find an option that gives you both some security.

Could you maybe offer a year’s rent to give the landlord security it would be ideal if you could chat to a landlord about your circumstances? Then your Uc would perhaps cover some or all of your housing costs?

everything will work out.

No longer allowed to offer a years rent upfront due to the renters right act. Assuming op is in England

I don't know about the UC side of things but I'm a gypsy and at least half my friends and family live in park homes. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them.

A bit tricky to keep warm/cold in the summer and winter months but ask around on the park and they'll give you some great tips.

You cannot legally live on a Holiday Park whatever the park owners tell you. You are never more than 48 hours away from being evicted and have no rights at all. You will probably never be in a position where you have this amount of money again and you would be crazy to buy on a holiday park. They will put your fees up each year, charge you the earth for your utilities. You cant register with a doctor on a Holiday park. Unless the park has a residential license you are at risk of losing everything. Dont do it.

Residential sites exist, not just holiday ones

That is misleading the OP, she is talking about buying holiday home not a Residential Park Home.
That is not legal and will see the Op lose her money. Holiday park homes are not residential spec either so not suitable for living in all year round.

The home you live in doesn't count towards UC. I have a mortgage and get UC.

You will waste your money on a Park Home. Even if you have to move to a flat or find an expert mortgage broker.
To be honest, residential parks are usually very quiet and calm with lots of restrictions. Not a place for a child with autism who may have meltdowns.

Have you looked at shared ownership? You may be able to buy a small share with the 50k and then pay rent on the rest if the share, no mortgage needed.

Thanks to this wonderful government that is now illegal. Maximum one month rent in advance. Everything about the RRA means the people without the best income etc now find it almost impossible to get private rentals.

Yes you can do this, if they don’t accept the address you use a family or friends or even the job centre as your care of address. They do this for homeless people.
They obviously won’t pay towards it or the ground rent, so please factor in the ground rent. You won’t be able to live there full time though, so you need to consider that too. Also if she’s in a specialist the school transport may not collect her from there.

Don’t do it . There are horror stories about park homes . You could end up with huge costs for service charges and loss of value of the caravan . Some parks chuck you off after a certain time unless you buy one of their new caravans . Find a nice rental near your daughter’s school .