Residential Mobile (Park) Homes

Yes. If you use your land for the siting of caravans for permanent residential use, you must apply for a site licence; unless the use of the site falls into the category of ‘exempted sites’ as defined in the First Schedule of the Caravan and Control of Development Act 1960.

Exemptions

You do not need a licence to operate a caravan site if:

• forestry workers, builders, travelling showmen or seasonal workers (like fruit pickers) stay in caravans on the site;
• the site is 5 or more acres and there are 3 or less caravans there for 28 days or less a year;
• you’re a member of an organisation like a caravan club and have a caravan exemption certificate;
• your site is approved by an organisation with a caravan exemption certificate;
• members of an exempted organisation stay in their caravans on the site;
• your site is used for a social get-together of caravan club members (a ‘rally’).

All relevant protected sites must have the appropriate planning permission. A site licence cannot be issued without the site having the benefit of planning permission for permanent residential use.

Once you have obtained planning permission for the site, you must make an application for a site licence as soon as possible.

You should contact the Housing Licensing Team if you think your residential site needs a site licence. They can offer advice and send you an application form, if required.

Alternatively, online applications can be made on the gov.uk website.

Please do not delay in making an application if you are legally required to licence your site. You will commit an offence if you operate an unlicensed site without a reasonable excuse. The council has the power to initiate prosecution proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court and anyone found guilty of such an offence may be subject to a fine of any amount.

If you are having problems with obtaining the information required for the application, please contact us as soon as possible.

Your application will only be validated and processed if it is complete and all the necessary documentation has been provided. You will be advised if any information is missing.

There are currently no fees payable for site licence applications in respect of residential mobile (park) home sites.

To ensure the proper management and maintenance of sites and services, conditions are attached to all site licences. When setting conditions, the council is required to have regard to the model standards published by the Government. The current guidance is set out in the Model Standards 2008 for Caravan Sites in England.

The council has a duty to publish any site rules that are deposited with the council following the relevant consultation between the site owner(s) and residents. The Public Register of Relevant Protected Sites shows if a site has deposited a set of park rules with the council.

Residents who disagree with or wish to challenge specific rules are advised to seek independent legal advice. Help and advice can also be obtained from The Leasehold Advisory Service.

Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, Section 25
Mobile Homes Act 2013 | Mobile Homes (Site Rules)(England) Regulations 2014, Regulation 16

To be a fit and proper person, the relevant person will have to show that they have suitable financial and management arrangements in place for the site. Furthermore, a fit and proper person will need to have the right to work in the UK and provide evidence to show that they are a fit and proper person. The following, among other matters, is taken into account when a fit and proper assessment is made:

• Offences relating to fraud, dishonesty, violence, arson or drugs or listed in Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003;
• Contraventions of law in relation to: housing, caravan sites, mobile homes, public health, planning or environmental health or landlord and tenant law;
• Contraventions of law in relation to the Equality Act 2010, or in connection with the carrying out of any business;
• Harassment of any person in connection with the carrying out of any business;
• Insolvency within the last 10 years;
• Disqualification from acting as a company director within the last 10 years.

Under the legislation, the fit and proper person must be the person with day-to-day responsibility for managing the site, whether that is the site owner or a person appointed to undertake the task on the owner’s behalf.

Anyone applying for a new site licence, or the transfer of a site licence to a new owner, will need to apply to have themselves or the site manager included on the fit and proper person register.

Applications must be made to the council directly.

The applicant seeking entry on to the register will need a basic DBS certificate (dated no more than six months before the date of the application) and this must be included with your application. The DBS certificate must be from an approved supplier. Information about how to arrange a DBS check can be found on the Government’s website.

You should contact the Housing Licensing Team to apply to be added to the register. They can offer advice and provide an application form.

At present, there is no fee for making an application to be on the fit and proper person register. If an application is granted subject to conditions, the council will charge a fee for the annual monitoring of the conditions.

The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be a Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 5 and Schedule 1

Private Sector Housing, Housing and Planning, Thanet District Council, PO Box 9, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent, CT9 1XZ.

Tel: (01843) 577437 | Email: housing.licensing@thanet.gov.uk | Website: thanet.gov.uk