Since 1 October 2021, the owners of Mobile Home sites need to ensure that they, or any person(s) who they appoint for day-to-day management of the site, is a ‘Fit and Proper Person’.
The purpose of the Fit and Proper Person test is to improve the standards of Mobile Home site management.
What the new legislation requires
The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force in July 2021 and require site owners to submit a formal application for inclusion onto a ‘Register of Fit and Proper Persons’.
This legislation applies to residential Mobile Homes sites operating on a commercial basis. ‘Non-commercial, family-occupied sites’ are exempt. Anyone who currently holds a licence for a site, applying for a new site licence, or the transfer of a site licence to a new owner, will need to apply for themselves and/or on behalf of an appointed site manager to included on the register.
What do mobile home site owners need to do?
Before October 1 2021, site owners need to provide:
What Knowsley Council will do
Applications will be reviewed, including checks to ensure the council is satisfied that the applicant, and all persons responsible for the day-to-day management of the site is a Fit and Proper Person.
Upon assessment and in the course of decision making:
- Reasonable conditions may be applied to the register to ensure that effective and satisfactory management is in place or that any previous relevant contravention or offence is not repeated.
- The council will maintain a Fit and Proper Person Register to include some details of applicants. A person may be placed on the register for up to a maximum of five years. If the council determines that the applicant or any person appointed for the day-to-day management of the site are not Fit and Proper, they will not be accepted onto the register (there will be an appeal process for all decisions).
What happens if a mobile home site owner fails to comply?
- Site owners who fail to submit a formal Fit and Proper Person application on the correct form and/or do not provide sufficient information, and/or do not pay the application fee by 1 October 2021 will be committing an offence if they continue to operate the site.
- Offences also include providing false or misleading information in, or withholding information from, an application for inclusion of the register, and failing to comply with a condition of inclusion in the register.
- If found guilty on summary conviction, offences will result in penalties of an unlimited fine.
- If convicted twice or more for operating a site in contravention of the regulations, the site licence may be revoked.
View the current register
Download a copy of the latest register of Mobile Home Site Managers in Knowsley.
Sources of more information
If you have any questions about the regulations, please email [email protected] or phone 0151 443 4712.