KwikChex is receiving an increasing number of enquiries from Seasons Holidays owners asking for our opinion on whether they should agree to the new terms for subletting their ownership.
We understand why owners are finding this difficult.
For some, rental income has become an important means of offsetting the costs associated with their ownership. Others tell us that the prospect of rental income was itself an important factor when they originally purchased Keys or Collection products or when they subsequently upgraded. Many have used their pension funds and savings, believing that buying the products would positively affect their retirement.
Now, owners are being asked to accept new terms that include significant provisions regarding costs, deductions, and the information (or, more correctly, the lack thereof) Seasons is required to provide.
We believe owners should understand these issues before making their individual decisions.
What does the new agreement say?
The agreement makes clear that rental returns are not guaranteed and states that they “never have been guaranteed.”
It provides for a series of deductions from rental income, including VAT, utilities and amenities, Sales, Marketing & Agency costs of 28% for 28 Keys and Lake, Park and Garden Collections and 33% for other products, followed by a Service Charge.
It also states that successful net rentals are pooled by season and distributed equally among qualifying owners/groups.
The transparency issue
Of particular concern to KwikChex is the statement:
“We are not obliged to provide you with a statement or breakdown of costs or usage across the resorts.”
This appears particularly significant when considered alongside the number of deductions that may be made before an owner’s eventual return is calculated.
Owners reasonably want to know:
What did the holidaymaker actually pay?
What costs were deducted?
How was the Service Charge calculated?
What income entered the rental pool?
How was the owner’s share calculated?
The agreement appears to give Seasons considerable control over this process while expressly stating that it is not obliged to provide owners with a breakdown of costs or usage. This makes it difficult for an owner to independently verify whether their eventual payment has been calculated correctly.
Recent rental returns make this more than a theoretical concern
KwikChex has now been advised of multiple 2025 Lake Collection Annual Rental Return Statements showing:
Net Amount: £560.63
Service Charge: £574.57
Amount Paid: -£13.95
The accompanying explanation does not provide the underlying calculation showing how either the £560.63 Net Amount or £574.57 Service Charge was arrived at.
This demonstrates why transparency matters.
An owner considering the new agreement cannot necessarily assume that placing their entitlement into the rental programme will result in them receiving money.
Depending upon the calculations and deductions applied, the outcome could potentially be very small or even negative.
What property is actually being rented?
There is an additional issue which may be particularly relevant.
Many owners cannot identify the particular property or properties underpinning their contractual entitlement.
That creates basic questions about how the rental system operates.
This last question is particularly important.
If an owner declines the new Subletting Agreement, what happens to the accommodation that would otherwise have been available to them?
Is it removed from commercial rental inventory?
Is it made available to another Member?
Does it return to a general accommodation pool?
Can it subsequently be commercially rented by Seasons or an associated business?
And, if there is no identifiable accommodation attributable to an individual Collection owner, how does Seasons determine which rental income belongs to Members in the first place?
Seasons’ own rental inventory adds another consideration
KwikChex has also seen correspondence in which Seasons confirms that it owns a proportion of the Lakes Collection itself. Seasons has said that 2027 weeks advertised on the Landal site are Seasons’ own stock, and can be advertised before the owners’ window opens and before any Member has submitted weeks for rent.
If Seasons administers the Members’ rental arrangements while also having its own accommodation available for commercial rental, owners may reasonably want to understand how the two inventories are separated and how Seasons ensures that Members’ interests are treated fairly.
What were owners originally told?
KwikChex has strong evidence that rental income was used for many years as part of the sales proposition for Seasons products.
We have also examined several Return on Investment documents used by Seasons during the sales process that used an initial annual rental income of £1,500, increasing by 2% annually, as part of a calculation illustrating an overall annual return of approximately 10.4%.
The spreadsheet separately described the eventual property sale proceeds as “Not Guaranteed”, but many owners were materially influenced by rental-income representations when purchasing.
So, should owners agree to the new terms?
KwikChex does not think there is a single answer appropriate for every owner.
Personal circumstances and contractual arrangements differ.
Some owners may decide that they need or want to continue seeking rental income and therefore consider participation preferable to leaving their entitlement unrented.
Others may be uncomfortable accepting terms under which substantial deductions can apparently be made while their ability to obtain the underlying calculations is restricted.
There may also be owners who believe that accepting the new agreement could affect arguments they have concerning their existing contractual rights or previous representations. That may require individual consideration before they agree to new terms.
Our main concern is that owners are being asked to make this decision while important information about how the rental system operates remains unclear.
They are being asked to enter into a financial arrangement without knowing whether it will produce a positive return at all, while being denied access to information they would need afterwards to determine whether the outcome was accurate and fair. Additionally, if they decline to sublet through Seasons, how can they trust that the accommodation supposedly underpinning their contract wasn’t rented out anyway – and how can they trust the service charges they will be asked to pay? And finally, it is important to establish how (as Seasons has previously suggested to some dissenting owners) an owner could themselves alternatively rent out their weeks. Seasons has been asked this question and, to date, has not provided an answer.
In our view, this is an intolerable position for owners to face.
If an owner cannot make an informed decision due to this lack of transparency, it’s reasonable to seek clarification before entering a new agreement, and in this regard, UK consumer law may also be relevant.
For historical sales and conduct before April 2025, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 may be relevant to questions concerning misleading actions, misleading omissions and aggressive commercial practices.
For current conduct, including the presentation and implementation of the new agreement, the unfair-commercial-practices provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 may be relevant.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 may also be relevant when considering whether consumer contract terms are fair and transparent.
Transparency is an important consumer-law principle, and the relationship between what consumers were originally told, what they are being asked to agree to now, and what material information they are given before making that decision warrants careful examination.
What KwikChex is doing
KwikChex is continuing to gather evidence concerning the Seasons rental arrangements, including:
Original sales material; rental and ROI illustrations; contracts and Collection documentation; historic and current subletting agreements; rental statements; Service Charges; Landal availability information; and correspondence explaining how Seasons-owned and Member inventory is treated.
We are establishing a much clearer picture of:
What owners were originally told → what contractual rights they acquired → how the rental system actually operates → what has subsequently changed → and what financial consequences those changes are producing.
Where appropriate, this evidence can be included in the information KwikChex presents to relevant authorities. We have extensive experience gathering and structuring complex consumer evidence and working with enforcement authorities and the media.
Our General Advice
We would not advise owners to sign the new Subletting Agreement without first considering its implications. We can’t advise all owners to refuse it, as the consequences may vary depending on their contracts and individual circumstances.
Our General Advice is therefore:
Read the agreement carefully. Preserve a copy. Do not feel pressured into making an immediate decision. Ask Seasons in writing for clarification of anything you do not understand – particularly the calculation of deductions, Service Charges, inventory allocation and what happens if you decline to participate – and retain Seasons’ answers. Those answers may themselves become important evidence.
This is General Advice, which KwikChex provides free of charge. We recognise that the Subletting Agreement is just one part of the broader concerns many Seasons owners are facing.
Owners who are already subscribed to the KwikChex Direct Assistance Service can have the new Subletting Agreement, their decision regarding it, relevant correspondence, and the resulting rental treatment added to the evidence being collated on their behalf. This can then form part of the wider evidence KwikChex is assembling and, where appropriate, presenting to relevant authorities and other parties.
Owners who aren’t subscribed to our Direct Assistance service and who would like to discuss the new Subletting Agreement or their wider Seasons situation are welcome to contact KwikChex by email at info@kwikchex.com. We can explain the issues we have identified, the options available and, where appropriate, the additional assistance KwikChex can provide.
KwikChex will continue its overall investigation into Seasons, and the specific rental arrangements issue, and the concerns raised by owners, using evidence from our Direct Assistance work and our experience working with enforcement authorities and the media.
This is KwikChex’s shared view, based on the many cases we have been involved in over the past decade. It shouldn’t be considered formal legal advice. Owners may wish to consult a solicitor of their choosing, or Citizens Advice, and are welcome to share the above if they do so.
