Find out about the new regulations for owners and licence holders of caravan sites
The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 prohibit the use of land as a residential mobile home site unless the local authority is satisfied that the owner or manager of the site is a fit and proper person to manage the site.
The purpose of the fit and proper person test is to improve the standards of park (mobile) home site management.
View the fit and proper person register
About the regulations
The Mobile Homes (Requirements for Manager of Site to Fit and Proper) (England) Regulations 2020 will be brought in in two stages.
Stage one
Stage one gave local authorities in England until 1 July 2021 to:
- prepare to receive applications from site owners (or “occupiers")
- establish their processes for making and issuing decisions
- establish a fit and proper person register for their local area
Stage two
Stage two will provide three months from the end of stage one for site owners/licence holders to submit completed applications to local authorities. The deadline for applications is 1 October 2021.
The Government will also publish non-statutory guidance for both local authorities and site owners. We'll provide a link to this when it's released.
What does this mean for site owners?
From 1 October 2021, unless the site is exempt, the site owner must:
- be a fit and proper person to lawfully operate a park home site, or
- have a fit and proper site manager in place, or
- have submitted a completed application
What must a site owner do?
Site owners operating a relevant protected site must apply (after 1 July 2021) to us for the relevant person (themselves or their appointed manager) to be included in the local register of fit and proper persons to manage a site.
You apply by downloading our application form.
A site owner may only apply if they hold or have applied for a site licence for the site.
Exempt sites
A site is exempt if it's “a non-commercial family occupied site”. This is one:
- only occupied by members of the same family, and
- not being run on a commercial basis
The regulations provide further detail about this exemption. See the GOV.UK - legislation website for more details.
What we'll consider
To be happy that the relevant person is a fit and proper person to manage the site, and to add them to the register, we'll consider:
- past compliance with the site licence
- the long term maintenance of the site
- whether the relevant person has sufficient level of competence to manage the site
- the management structure and funding arrangements for the site or proposed management structure and funding arrangements
We'll also consider whether the relevant person:
- has the right to work within the UK
- has committed any offence involving fraud or other dishonesty, violence, arson or drugs or listed in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (offences attracting notification requirements)
- has contravened any provision of the law relating to housing, caravan sites, mobile homes, public health, planning or environmental health or of landlord and tenant law
- has contravened any provision of the Equality Act 2010 in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
- has harassed any person in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
- has had an application rejected by any other local authority
- is, or has been within the past 10 years, personally insolvent
- is, or has been within the last 10 years, disqualified from acting as a company director
We also may consider the conduct of any person associated or formerly associated with the relevant person (whether on a personal, work or other basis), if it appears that person’s conduct is relevant.
We can also consider any evidence on any other relevant matters.
Application cost
We'll make a charge for the processing of applications to cover our costs. This charge will be in line with government guidance.
The charge for processing an application is £230.
If you have to make multiple applications we may be able to apply a discount of £55 to subsequent applications. A discount can be applied if there is no material difference to the relevant person and the fit and proper information relating to the relevant person. In this instance the fee will be £175 for subsequent applications.
To see our full fee structure please download our Caravan Fees Policy.