The VanLife Census: How Many People Really Live in Vans in the UK?
- VanLife.uk
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
By VanLife.uk
“Numbers drive policy. If councils don’t know you exist, they don’t plan water points, waste disposal or safe overnighting options.”
Nobody knows exactly how many people in Britain call a van “home”. There’s no official tick‑box, our vehicles aren’t counted as houses, and many of us prefer to stay off the radar. But if you piece together clues from UK vehicle records, local case studies, social media communities and charity research, a credible picture emerges:
A cautious estimate: 30,000–60,000 people living full‑time in vehicles across the UK.
A mid‑range estimate: 50,000–100,000.
An upper‑bound scenario: 120,000–180,000.
Part‑timers and seasonal vanlifers? Likely hundreds of thousands more.
Why there isn’t an official VanLife Census (and why that matters)
Britain can tell you the number of cars on the road almost to the unit, but it cannot tell you how many people live in them. Why?
No census tick‑box. The national census asks about your accommodation type (house, flat, caravan or other mobile/temporary structure). But most vans used as homes sit outside those categories, and the question is asked against a fixed address. Result: vehicle dwellers fall through the cracks.
Vehicle records describe machines, not lives. DVLA and Department for Transport (DfT) data is excellent at counting vehicles by body type (e.g., “motor caravan”, “light goods vehicle”). But it doesn’t record how a vehicle is used, weekend escapes and full‑time living look identical on paper.
Invisibility, sometimes by design. People living in vehicles for financial, legal or safety reasons often avoid attention. Others simply prize privacy. Either way, official stats undercount.
Why it matters:
Numbers influence council planning: water points, waste disposal, safe overnighting bays.
Numbers shape policing and enforcement: policy that distinguishes between tourism management and housing reality tends to be calmer and more effective.
Numbers alter public opinion: a transparent, evidence‑based estimate counters the extremes of “Instagram fantasy” and “anti‑social blight”.
“A census isn’t about turning vanlife into spreadsheets. It’s about being seen.”
Clues we can count (and what they actually mean)
A) Vans in Britain (the big backdrop)
There are millions of light goods vehicles (vans) licensed in the UK. Think delivery fleets, trades vans, and a small but growing share of stealth/self‑build campers. This shows the maximum pool of potential dwellings on wheels, but it tells us nothing about how many are homes.
B) Motor caravans / motorhomes (the official “camper” bucket)
DVLA keeps a body‑type category called motor caravan (what many of us would call a motorhome). It’s the closest official proxy for a purpose‑built home‑on‑wheels. However, a large share of UK campervans are self‑build conversions that were never re‑registered to “motor caravan”, particularly after stricter reclassification guidance was introduced in 2019–20.
C) Local case studies
Some councils occasionally publish estimates of people living in vehicles. These snapshots are messy but valuable. They hint at concentrated hotspots, typically big cities with high rents, university towns, and coastal areas.
D) Social media communities (handle with care)
UK vanlife Facebook groups and Insta/TikTok hashtags show huge engagement. Membership counts are useful to gauge scale and growth, but include international followers, duplicate accounts and curious onlookers.
E) Charities and frontline services
Homelessness organisations, churches and outreach teams periodically report people sleeping in vehicles (cars, vans, motorhomes). These figures are incomplete by definition, but they anchor the reality that thousands aren’t doing vanlife for the ’gram — they’re doing it to get by.
The undercount problem: classification quirks that hide van dwellers
DVLA body type & usage. A family taking the van to the tip and a couple touring full‑time might both appear as a “light goods vehicle”. Conversely, a shiny A‑class motorhome registered as “motor caravan” might be used six weekends a year.
Reclassification bottleneck. Since 2019, converting a panel van into a V5C‑recognised “motor caravan” often requires visible exterior features. Many stealth builds don’t qualify by design.
Census framing. The household questionnaire presumes a fixed dwelling and address.
Building a number, carefully: three ways to triangulate
Top‑down from motorhome stock (how many are lived in full‑time).
Bottom‑up from local hotspots (snapshots in cities, coasts, parks).
Social proxies (community engagement, charity reports).
Scenario modelling: our working (with assumptions you can poke)
Scenario A — Conservative
Motor caravans lived in full‑time: ~8,000–12,000.
Self‑build full‑timers: ~8,000–12,000.
Necessity van dwellers: ~10,000–20,000.Total: 30,000–60,000.
Scenario B — Mid‑range
Motor caravans full‑time: ~15,000–25,000.
Self‑build full‑timers: ~15,000–35,000.
Necessity van dwellers: ~20,000–40,000.Total: 50,000–100,000.
Scenario C — Upper‑bound
Motor caravans full‑time: ~25,000–40,000.
Self‑build full‑timers: ~30,000–70,000.
Necessity van dwellers: ~60,000–70,000.Total: 120,000–180,000.
Chart: Estimated Full‑Time Van Dwellers in the UK
The geography of vanlife in Britain
Cities, coasts, national parks, and roadside belts all play their part. Urban stealth living is driven by rents. Coasts see seasonal surges. National parks vary with enforcement. Roadside belts are the unglamorous but real backbone.
Chart: Where Vanlife Concentrates
Who’s in the vans?
Adventure‑first full‑timers.
Stealth urban dwellers.
Family vans.
Seasonal workers.
Necessity residents.
Chart: Who’s in the Vans?
The law in brief
Parking and overnighting. On public roads, normal parking rules apply. Local byelaws and car‑park terms sometimes restrict overnighting.
Trespass and private land. Without permission, you risk being moved on.
Insurance and V5C. If you live in your vehicle, tell your insurer.
Address and services. Most full‑timers keep a correspondence address.
Money matters
Costs range from van purchase, insurance, MOTs, fuel, LPG, mobile data, campsite fees, to gym memberships for showers. Local economies benefit from vanlife through spending in cafés, launderettes, and shops. Work patterns vary from remote jobs to seasonal gigs.
Public opinion, myths and the media
Myth: It’s all influencers. Reality: most are workers or families.
Myth: Vans bring mess. Reality: most are meticulous.
Myth: It’s illegal to sleep in a vehicle. Reality: not generically.
Myth: They don’t contribute. Reality: they fuel local economies.
Useful resources for UK van dwellers
Wild camping rules — differences between nations.
Apps and maps: Park4Night, Searchforsites.
Facilities directories — laundrettes, taps, disposal points.
Legal guidance: Citizens Advice, Shelter.
Insurance brokers for self‑builds.
Communities: Facebook groups, VanLife.uk forum.
Emergency contacts: outreach teams, winter shelters.
Ethics: visibility without vulnerability
Acknowledge the hidden populations without exposing individuals. Respect privacy, avoid precise park‑ups, and remember that for many this is necessity not choice.
Case studies
Science park lay‑by. Key workers, coder, tradesperson.
Coastal town. Fisherman’s son, retired nurse, charity worker.
Retail park corner. Stealth vans, gym as showers.
University town. Students sharing vans to afford studies.
International comparisons
Europe has its own vanlife trends. In Scandinavia, allemansrätt supports wild camping. In Spain and Portugal, enforcement waxes and wanes. In the US, “vanlife” overlaps with a massive RV industry and necessity living in vans due to rent crises. Britain sits somewhere between — stricter planning, but a growing movement.
Forecast to 2030
Housing, policy, EVs, remote work, tourism management, and data transparency all affect future numbers.
Chart: What Could Change VanLife Numbers by 2030
Frequently asked questions
Why not just count motor caravans? Because body type & residency.
Is this glamorising homelessness? No — it separates different realities.
Isn’t this impossible without doxing people? We don’t need individual IDs
Will councils just enforce more? Data helps argue for facilities
What about safety? Lighting, codes of conduct, trusted networks.
Sources (short version)
Industry snapshots of motorhome stock.
Local case studies and outreach data.
Community metrics.
Glossary
Motor caravan: DVLA body type for living accommodation.
Self‑build: Converted van not always re‑registered.
Full‑time: Vehicle is primary home 9–12 months/year.
Part‑time/seasonal: Vehicle is home for part of the year.
Capture‑recapture: A statistical estimation method.
A sober conclusion
We won’t pretend our range is a perfect truth. But it’s a start — and a better start than silence. If Britain has 50,000–100,000 people living full‑time in vehicles, then the least we can do as a country is plan for them compassionately and intelligently.
Until official statistics include vehicle dwellers, VanLife.uk will keep shining a light on Britain’s hidden, rolling community.
