Improving Park Home and Caravan Site Management in Central Bedfordshire – Fit and Proper Person Register
Thursday, 16 September 2021
In 2013 the government introduced new laws to give tenants more protection and further regulation has now been introduced with stricter rules.
The rules are intended to clamp down on the small minority of rogue site owners and managers who may operate bad practices and exploitation of residents, such as failure to address residents’ complaints or anti-social behaviour by site owners – with strong enforcement against those who don’t comply on their mobile home sites.
From the 1 July 2021, all permanent residential park home sites operating on a commercial basis must be managed by a ‘fit and proper person’, under the Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 and we've been given the powers to manage and monitor the application process.
We're currently implementing these new regulations to enable site owners, or site managers, to make their applications to be included on the Register of Fit and Proper Persons. The Fit and Proper Person must be the person with day-to-day responsibility for managing a site, whether that is the site owner, or a person appointed to undertake the task on the owner’s behalf. The person will have to show that there are suitable financial and management arrangements in place for the site as well as, the disclosure of any criminal convictions.
Councillor Eugene Ghent, our Executive Member for Housing and Assets, said:
Central Bedfordshire has one of the highest numbers of mobile park homes per local authority in England. These homes are continuing to increase as they are a popular choice as a starter home and, also for people looking to “right size” to a smaller property in a close-knit community setting.
We need site owners and operators to get their applications in as soon as possible as from 1 October 2021 it will be a criminal offence to operate a site without having a fit and proper manager in place.
A fee of £120.40 is required for people to be included on the register and anyone found breaching these rules will be taken to court and could face an unlimited fine.
If you are an owner or manager of a residential mobile park home or caravan site you can apply online to join the register.
Park Home and caravan sites which are only occupied by the site owner or members of their family do not need to apply. However, if circumstances change and units are rented out to non-family members then the owner or site manager will need to apply to be included on the register.