Fit and Proper Person Test for Mobile Home Site Managers

The purpose of the fit and proper person test is to improve the standards of park home site management.

Register of Fit and Proper Persons to manage a protected residential caravan site.

Who should apply?

This rule applies to residential park home sites which operate on a commercial basis, where units are sold or rented to residents.

Park home sites which are only occupied by the site owner or members of the site owner’s family do not need to apply.

The fit and proper person must be the person with day-to-day responsibility for managing a site. This could be the site owner, or a person appointed to undertake the task on the owner’s behalf. The applicant should be the site owner and licence holder.

If the site owner is a company or a corporate body, the application form must be completed by an appropriate person. The appropriate person could be:

  • a director or other officer of the company
  • a partner, where the site owner is a partnership
  • a member of the management committee

Prepare your application

The applicant must show that there are suitable financial and management arrangements in place for the site and provide information about:

  • 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,
  • right to work in the UK,
  • the applicant will need to provide a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate dated no more than six months before the date of the application. The DBS certificate must be from an approved supplier.

You can arrange a DBS check using the GOV.UK - request a basic DBS check page on the Government website.

How to apply

You must submit an application to the council between the 1 July 2021 and by midnight of 30 September 2021 inclusive to be assessed as a fit and proper person.

Please see our Fit and Proper Persons guidance document

The application will require payment of a fee the amount of which will be confirmed as soon as possible.

After you apply

We will make a decision regarding your application as soon as reasonably practicable. We can:

  • Grant the application unconditionally. The person’s name will be included on the register for five years.
  • Grant the applications with conditions. If conditions are attached, there will be an annual fee of £100 per condition per year
  • Serve a preliminary notice on the applicant. This will include reasons for our decision and information about the right to make representations. The site owner has 28 days in which to make written representations if they do not agree with the preliminary notice. We must take into account any representations before issuing the final decision notice. A final notice must include reasons for the decision and about the right of appeal against the decision.

The council must keep and maintain a register of fit and proper persons. This means that some of the information you provide in your application will be entered into the register. The information that will be included are your name, business address and contact details, name of the site, status of the applicant and relevant dates.

What happens if I don't apply?

If you are operating a site and fail to comply with the fit and proper person test it is a criminal offence and if found guilty you would be liable, on summary conviction, of a fine up to level 5.

More information

If you have any questions regarding the regulations or how they will affect you, or have any questions regarding the submission of the application please email Housing Standards at customer.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk or telephone 01284 757044

Privacy notice for Mobile Homes Register of Fit and Proper Persons