SPRING 2022 MOBILE-HOME SITES Fitness assessment New rules on management and compliance aim to ensure high standards at mobile-home sites The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force in 2021, and it is now an offence to operate a site without a fit and proper person in charge, or to fail to comply with any conditions set. The regulations cover residential parks and mixed-use parks used for residential and holiday purposes, whether the site is owned by an individual or managed by a company. Fines for non-compliance are potentially unlimited. Family-occupied sites that are not being run as commercial residential sites are exempt from the regulations. Site owners must submit an application to their local authority for a relevant person to be assessed as fit and proper. They can only apply if they hold or have applied for a site licence, and the owner can be the fit and proper person. All site owners must submit an application to their local authority for a relevant person to be assessed as fit and proper Proper management of the site includes ensuring compliance with the licence conditions and long-term maintenance. Once the local authority is satisfied that they are competent to manage the site for example, they have sufficient experience and training the fit and proper person will be included on a register. Names may go straight on the register, with conditions, or may be refused for no longer than five years. The register must be open to members of the public and published online. The local authority may also consider general management arrangements for the site, including adequate funding, and has the power to carry out reviews, remove names from the register, and amend conditions. Site owners have 28 days to appeal against a decision notice. If your chosen person fails the assessment and you cannot find another suitable candidate, the local authority must appoint a person to manage the site with the consent of the owner. When making your fit and proper person application, you will need to give: n The name and business contact details of the site n The name and address of the site n Evidence of legal ownership, with contact details of other parties who have a legal or equitable interest in the site n Confirmation that the site owner is the occupier within the meaning of Section 2 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1990 n Details of other similar sites for which you hold a licence n Evidence of criminal record checks where necessary n Details of the managers role. Credit: Helen Cameron, Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner Image: iStock / Marc Dufresne If you own multiple sites, including in other local authority areas, you must disclose this information, because it may be relevant to a persons suitability to manage a site. The local authority can make enquiries with other authorities, and it is an offence to give misleading or false information. For more information, see A guide for local authorities. For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service