Residential Caravan Site Licensing and the ‘Fit and Proper Person Assessment’
The information on this page applies to:
- residential caravan/mobile home sites
- sites where there may be a mixture of permanent residential and temporary holiday pitches
- applying for a site licence
- applying for a ‘Fit and Proper Person Test’
If you are enquiring about a licence for holiday and touring caravan sites, or for camping, please contact Environmental Health.
Mobile homes - site licensing
If you wish to place caravans, mobile homes or park homes on land for residential purposes, in most cases you will need to apply for a caravan site licence. If there is already a licence for the site, the licence holder will need to be transferred to you by contacting Environmental Health.
You will also need planning permission for a residential site before you apply for a licence.
Exemptions
Some sites do not need a licence, for instance:
- agricultural and forestry workers
- building and engineering sites
- gypsy and traveller sites managed by county councils
- sites managed by the licensing authority
- use within curtilage of a house (if in connection with the house)
Please note that even if a caravan is exempt from requiring a licence, stationing a caravan on land may still need planning permission, please contact our Planning team to check.
Apply for a Site Licence
To apply for a site licence please complete the application form.
Or, alternatively if you would like to:
- apply for a residential caravan site licence,
- transfer one to a new owner or leaseholder, or
- alter the conditions attached to a current licence.
You may e-mail Environmental Health to request an application form. Please supply your name, address, email address, telephone number and the name of the site.
When you send in your completed application, you will also be required to provide a site plan of a minimum scale of 1:500 showing structures, features, services and facilities.
Please send your completed form by post, or send an electronic scan to Environmental Health.
What happens next?
Once we receive the application and all the information requested, we will discuss the licence process with you. We will then inspect the site, and may consult with the fire service. Following the inspection, we will send you an invoice for the application fee, based on the number of units on the site when we inspected.
We normally make a decision within eight weeks of receiving a complete application (including all the supporting details, documents and the payment). However, some applications may take longer and we will discuss this with you if this is the case.
Before issuing a new licence, we will usually consult with you by sending you the proposed licence conditions. We allow a minimum of 14 days for you to comment before we issue the final licence.
You have the right to appeal to a First Tier Tribunal if you disagree with:
- a decision to refuse a licence application or a transfer application
- any conditions appended to a new application
- a decision to refuse to alter a condition
- a decision taken by the council to alter any existing condition of the licence
Please note; when a licence is transferred, the site licence conditions will usually remain unchanged.
Failure to meet the standards set out in the licence conditions could result in us serving a Compliance Notice. This is the first step in taking formal action to improve standards to meet the requirements of the licence conditions.
Site Licence Fees and Charges
Fees and charges are made for:
- an application for a new licence - £568.69 plus an additional fee of £3.35 per unit.
- an annual fee for site inspection - £343.97 plus an additional fee of £2.51 per unit.
- variation - £309.52 plus an additional fee of £1.26 per unit.
- transfer of an existing site licence - £175.43
- deposit of site rules - £39.73
Site Licence Conditions
When we issue a licence there will be conditions attached. Conditions mainly cover health and safety areas such as:
- spacing
- fire safety
- parking
- roads
- supply and storage of gas
- electrical installations
Other Licensing Considerations
We also have to consider the licence holders ability to manage and maintain the site.
Site licences are normally not time limited. However, where temporary planning permission is granted the licence will also be time limited.
There will need to be a new application to transfer the licence if the site is sold to a new owner.
A variation to the licence will need to be made if there are changes such as additional pitches.
Register of residential caravan, mobile or park home sites
We are required to publish a list of all licensed multi-caravan sites. Please contact Environmental Health if you would like a copy of the register.
All sites are subject to the Mobile Homes Act 2013 and more information can be found on the gov.uk website.
Mobile home sites - fit and proper person applications
The Mobile Homes (Requirements for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 July 2021. The regulations introduced the ‘Fit and Proper Person Test’ for mobile home site operators.
The purpose of the fit and proper person test is to improve the standards of mobile home site management. All site owners must have applied to the Council for their site manager/s to be assessed as fit and proper persons to manage a site. A fee will be charged for assessing applications to enable the Council to recover the costs of this new responsibility.
Further details are available within the Mobile Homes – Fit and Proper Person Application Fees Policy.
What does this mean for site owners?
- From 1 October 2021, unless the site is exempt, the site owner must have a fit and proper site manager in place
What must a site owner do?
Site owners operating a relevant protected site must apply to us for the relevant person (themselves and/or their appointed manager(s)) to be included in the Council’s public register of fit and proper persons to manage a site.
A site owner may only apply if they hold or have applied for a site licence for the site.
Exempt sites
A site is exempt if it's “a non-commercial family occupied site”. This is one:
- only occupied by members of the same family, and
- not being run on a commercial basis
The regulations provide further detail about this exemption. Visit the GOV.UK - legislation website for more details.
Application Fee for Fit and Proper Person Assessment
We will make a charge for the processing of applications to cover our costs. This charge is in line with government guidance and is £433.45 per application. The application relates to the person and the fee is the same regardless of the number of homes on a site.
Apply for a Fit and Proper Assessment
If you are the owner of a licensed mobile home site within Tandridge district you will receive a letter and an application form in the post. Alternatively you may download an application form.
You may submit your application by email or send it in the post. Payment of the fee may be made by credit/debit card payment over the telephone, or by sending a cheque made payable to Tandridge District Council with the site name and address clearly written on the back. Further details are included in the notes accompanying the form.
You must submit your completed application form and all appropriate supporting documents along with the fee, to the Council. You will be required to supply a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate for each site manager with your application, which must be dated no earlier than 6 months before the date of your application. You may apply for the DBS certificate or your local post office will be able to advise you.
On submission of a full, completed application form together with all the necessary supporting documents and the payment your application will be assessed within a period of 6 weeks. On successful completion of the assessment, a site owners details will be recorded in the public Fit and Proper Register for Mobile Home sites in the district. Further details are available in the Council’s policy.