To Let or Not to Let??

That is today's question, and one I would imagine more and more static caravan owners are asking themselves now that pitch fees and the cost of living in general are rising, though of course not all sites allow you to sub-let your caravan.

If you are a member of any static caravan social media chat groups, there will always be people who will forcefully tell you to keep your caravan just for yourself and stress if you have to let your caravan you shouldn't own one. I can't agree with this view. Such people undoubtedly have more free income than I do, and, in any case, it's my caravan and I can do what I like with it! 

Potential Problems

Of course letting brings with it potential problems, especially if you let to strangers. Some people will not take as much care of your caravan as you do. They may be wasteful of your gas and electric. and if you're really unlucky you could get a tenant who enjoys causing damage, refuses to pay, or decides to walk off with one of your belongings. You can't entirely prevent this from happening, but you can minimise the risk. You also need to make sure your insurance covers you for lettings and check out your position with the taxman.

The Letting Options  

1. Friends and Family (Low Risk but Small Income)

If you only let to people you know, they are far more likely to take care of your caravan. You can leave extra belongings for them to use or tucked away in a box somewhere. You can ask them to bring their own bedding and to clean the van before they leave. They can order gas bottles if needed and you can reimburse them. The downside is that the number of potential friends and family renters is limited, and you probably would need to charge 'mate's rates'. 

(Friends)

 

                                                                 (And Family)

2. Let Through your Site 

If your site offers a letting option, and your van fits their criteria, then this can be worthy of consideration. You will have to remove all belongings not on their inventory list, but after that the site will take care of everything, cleaning, bedding, gas, condition checking, replacing broken items and emergency call-outs. They will also handle payment and advertising. They may even offer you extra insurance to cover minor repairs. The down-side is that your site are likely to take a big percentage of the income for their trouble. Ironically, you'll get most income during the summer school holidays, when people use less fuel for heating and lighting. However, if you have school age children, you may want use of your caravan for yourself at these times.

3. Use a Holiday Agency

There are plenty of agencies around, and they offer a variety of services from advertising or payment collection only to full management with cleaning, key handling and bed changes. Charges, condition and quality vary enormously, so you need to do your research. Such agencies will often take on letting 'older' caravans which do not fit a site's letting criteria.

4. Do It Yourself

This option has the potential to make you most money, but is also likely to be the most trouble. In the very least, as the owner, you will need to do your own advertising, money collection and deal with any issues. If you can find a trustworthy person who 'lives' on site or is close by them you might be able to pay them to clean, change beds and hand over keys, but ultimately you will be responsible for damage claims, troublesome tenants and night time emergencies. 

My Options

So in my first year of caravan ownership what did I choose to do and did it work? 

I have let my caravan out for some of the time this year and have covered about 75% of the pitch fees. I have also left plenty of time for myself and family to stay there. Unless you find yourself unwell or working away from the UK for long periods of time, there's not a lot of point in buying a static caravan if you don't use it yourself.  

This is what worked for me...

a) I let my caravan through the park for July and August. This involved just one clearance and return of my personal belongings most of which I locked away in a secure shed. I don't have school age children any more so probably wouldn't enjoy being on site in high season anyway. The letting service provided by the park was high quality, and they mostly sorted any minor problems. The caravan was handed back to me at the start of September in very good order. They even cleaned the carpets. I think my total loss was one cereal bowl, a cork coaster and a minor fence repair. I will use this service again next year.  

 b) I let my caravan to family and friends at reduced rates at other times when requested. I paid a cleaner just to check everything over before the tenants arrived, I asked guests to bring their own bedding and I made various arrangements to hand over the keys. I only live about half an hour away, so it's not too much effort for me. People were generally very grateful for the cheap holiday and looked after my caravan well. I hope to get some repeat bookings next year, but will have to raise fees slightly to cover the increase in gas and electric.