Caravan Sites - Fit and Proper Person
The Regulations
The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person)(England) Regulations 2020 has introduced a fit and proper person test for mobile home site owners or the person appointed to manage the site, unless exempted by the Regulations.
The Council must maintain and make publicly available a register of those assessed as a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a licence.
What must a site owner do?
Site owners operating a relevant, protected site must apply for the relevant person to be included on the local register of fit and proper persons.
Existing sites have until midnight on 30 September 2021 to submit an application.
For new sites, the Fit and Proper Person test is a different application to that of a caravan site licence but we would encourage both to be applied for at the same time, a site owner may only apply if they hold or have applied for a site licence for the site.
At the present time there is no fee for making an application to be included on the fit and proper person register. Please email environmentservices.request@maldon.gov.uk for application details.
What we will consider
To be sure that the relevant person is a fit and proper person to manage the site and to add them to the register we will consider a number of factors including the conduct of that person and their ability to secure proper management of the site.
How long does and fit and proper person test last?
If an applicant is assessed to be ‘fit and proper’ they are entered on to the register for a period determined by the Council of up to a maximum of 5 years. At the end of this period, the site owner/manager will need to submit another application to be included on the register.
Offences
If you are operating a relevant, protected site and the site owner / manager is not included on the Fit and Proper Person register it is a criminal offence and if found guilty, on summary conviction, you would be liable for an unlimited fine.