The 28-Day Rule and the 5-Unit Exemption Are Not the Same Thing

August 4, 2026

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Search "how many days can I camp without planning permission" and you'll find answers mentioning 28 days, others mentioning five units with no day limit at all, and very few explaining that these are actually two completely separate legal mechanisms. If you've come away from your research more confused than when you started, that's why.

Mechanism one: the 28-day permitted development right

Under permitted development rules (set out in the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order), a landowner can use land for camping — tents, caravans, motorhomes — for up to 28 days in any calendar year, without needing planning permission or going through an exempted organisation at all.


The trade-off is the time limit. Once you've used your 28 days, that's it for the year, regardless of how many units were on site or how it was run. This suits a one-off event, a festival weekend, or occasional short bursts of use — not a site you want running for most of the season.


Mechanism two: the certified exemption (paragraph 5)

The certified exemption works completely differently. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, an exempted organisation — such as Wanderlust Camping Club — can certify a site for up to five units, with no fixed day limit on how many days a year it operates, provided the site is properly certified and the local authority hasn't raised a valid objection.

The trade-off here is the unit cap rather than a time limit: five units, but potentially year-round, rather than unlimited units for a short burst.


Side by side


Why this distinction actually matters

Getting the two confused tends to go wrong in one of two directions. Some landowners assume the 28-day right means they can run a small site all season as long as they keep unit numbers low — it doesn't; the day count is what matters, not the size. Others assume the certified exemption comes with a day limit like the 28-day rule does, and needlessly restrict their own season when they don't have to.


Knowing which mechanism actually fits your plans — a handful of one-off weekends, or a proper season-long small site — decides which route makes sense, and neither one is "better" in the abstract. They're built for different situations.


Which one is right for you?

If you're picturing occasional use — a summer festival tie-in, a wedding weekend, a handful of one-off events — the 28-day right is probably the simpler route, and doesn't require certification by anyone.


If you're picturing a small site that's actually open for most of the season, capped at a manageable size, the certified exemption is very likely the better fit — and it's the route that gives guests (and you) the reassurance of proper vetting behind it.


Not sure which route fits what you're picturing? Get in touch and we'll help you work out which one actually applies.


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