Caravan site licences

Site licence for park homes, mobile homes and caravans

You will need a Site licence from us if you use the land for:

  • Park homes
  • Mobile homes
  • as a caravan site

You may also need planning permission.

We will attach conditions to every Site licence we issue. These conditions set out standards for:

  • the layout of the park
  • the provision of facilities
  • the maintenance of the park

We are responsible for making sure you meet the Site licence conditions.

Apply for a Site licence

You need to complete an application to apply for a Site licence. You can contact our Licensing team to send you the form.

When you submit your application you will also need to send us a plan of the site with details of the:

  • location of the homes
  • road layouts
  • fire-fighting equipment

If we grant your licence, it will set out conditions covering the:

  • number and type of homes
  • site layout and plan
  • density, parking and spacing between homes
  • roads, gateways and overhead cables
  • footpaths, pavements and hardstandings
  • lighting and electrical supply
  • supply and storage of gas
  • water supply, drainage and refuse
  • fire safety measures

Fit and Proper Person Test

The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020, apply to owners and licence holders of residential caravan sites.  The requirement for the person responsible for managing the site to be a fit and proper person is in addition to the requirement for a site to be licensed.

The fit and proper person requirement makes it an offence for a site licence holder to operate a park home site unless they, or their appointed manager, are a fit and proper person to do so.

Applications

You can apply for the fit and proper person test by downloading and completing the application form below:

Exempt sites

A site is exempt from the requirement for a fit and proper person if it is "a non-commercial family occupied site". This is a site only occupied by members of the same family and not being run on a commercial basis. See the GOV.UK - legislation website for more details.

Fees

Application for entry on the Fit and Proper Persons Register: £216

What we 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:

  • the owner's past compliance with the site licence
  • the long term maintenance of the site
  • whether the person has a sufficient level of competence to manage a site
  • the management structure and funding arrangements for the site or proposed management structure and funding arrangements

We 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 personally insolvent within the past 10 years
  • is or has been disqualified from acting as a company director within the last 10 years

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 the person's conduct is relevant. We can also consider any evidence on any other relevant matters.

View our fit and proper person register

Enforcement

After we have issued your Site licence, we can alter the licence conditions at any time. We will give licence holders the opportunity to make representation about any changes we are proposing.

We can take enforcement action for a breach of licence conditions. If you breach your licence conditions, we will serve you with a compliance notice. The compliance notice will list what action you need to take to address the issues.

If you don't comply with the terms of the notice, we may decide to prosecute you.

In emergency situations where you have not complied with a site condition and there is an imminent risk to the health and safety of others, we can take action ourselves. If we do this, we will recover the costs of carrying out the work from you.

You have a right to appeal if you think:

  • our actions were unreasonable 
  • that the residents on the site were not in imminent risk of serious harm

Site rules for residential caravan parks

The site owner may set site rules on residential caravan sites. We do not enforce these rules, although some rules may be a duplicate of the site licence conditions.

The site rules are part of the contract between the homeowner and site owner and supplement the Mobile Homes Act Agreement.

We have a duty to keep and publish a register of site rules. The site rules we publish are written by the site owners, not us. You can download and read the site rules for:

Licensing

Address: Causeway House
Bocking End
Braintree
Essex
CM7 9HB

Telephone: 01376 552525

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