Caravan Sites and Licensing

Fit and Proper Person

From 1 October 2021, unless the site is exempt, the site owner must

• be a fit and proper person to lawfully operate a park home site, or
• 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 Blaby District Council for the relevant person (themselves or their appointed manager) to be included in the local register of fit and proper persons to manage a site.

If a manager is put forward as the fit and proper person to operate the site they must have sufficient control and authority to make decisions in relation to the site.

Exempt sites

A site is exempt if it's "a non-commercial family occupied site". This is where the site is;

• only occupied by members of the same family

• not being run on a commercial basis　

What we'll consider

To be satisfied that the relevant person is a fit and proper person to manage the site, and to add them to the register, Blaby District Council will consider:

• past compliance with the site licence

• the long term maintenance of the site

• whether the relevant person has sufficient level of competence to manage the site

• the management structure and funding arrangements for the site or proposed management structure and funding arrangements

Blaby District Council will 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 within the past 10 years, personally insolvent

• is, or has been within the last 10 years, disqualified from acting as a company director

The Council may also 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 person’s conduct is relevant.

The Council can consider any evidence on any other relevant matters.

How to Apply

Applying for inclusion on the register carries an application fee of £275 for the 2022/23 period. An entry on the register will last for a maximum of 5 years, but the Council may specify a shorter time is that is deemed appropriate.

The applicant seeking entry on the register will need a basic DBS certificate (dated no more than 6 months before the date of the application) and this must be included with the 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.

The application form can be found in the download section at the bottom of this web page. 

• A caravan sited within the curtilage of a dwelling and its use is incidental to the dwelling. This means it cannot be occupied separately
• A single caravan sited for not more than two consecutive nights for a maximum of 28 days in any 12 months
• Up to three caravans on a site of not less than five acres for a maximum of 28 days in any 12 month
• Sites occupied by exempted organisations such as the Caravan Club
• Sites of up to five caravans certified by an exempt organisation and which are for members only
• Sites occupied by the local authority
• Sites for temporary and special purposes such as caravan rallies, agricultural and forestry workers, building and engineering sites and travelling salesmen

The main pieces of legislation that regulate caravan sites are:

Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960

• This contains the requirement for occupiers (this usually means the freehold owner) of caravan sites to hold a caravan site licence
• It is a criminal offence to operate a caravan site without holding a site licence and anyone convicted of this offence can face an unlimited fine
• It allows local authorities to place conditions on the site licence to control matters such as the separation of homes (and other structures) for fire safety; to ensure that the electricity, water, gas and oil supplies are adequate and safe; to ensure that the site is maintained to a reasonable and safe standard
• Where site owners are in breach of their licence conditions local authorities can serve compliance notices on them requiring that works are undertaken to remedy the breach. Failure to comply with a compliance notice is a criminal offence and anyone convicted of this offence can face an unlimited fine
• In some cases the Council can decide to undertake works themselves, but this would normally be in exceptional circumstances; such as an emergency

Mobile Homes Act 2013

This made some changes to the way that Councils can regulate licences. It also made changes to the relationship between the owners and residents of caravan sites. Further information on the rights of residents is found in the section on buying, selling or renting a caravan below.

If you are considering purchasing or renting a mobile home/static caravan for a permanent occupation that you are strongly advised to check the following matters:

Planning Permission

• Does the site have the required planning permission to be a caravan site?
• Are there any restrictions on whom can live on the site? For example is it only allowed for people who meet the Planning definition of Gypsies and Travellers?
• Are there any restrictions on the amount of time the site can be occupied? For example, is it allowed to be occupied for all or only part of the year?

Site Licence

• Does the current owner of the site hold a site licence? This can be checked with Blaby District Council
• What conditions have been applied to the licence and will this affect you for example some licences prohibit the storage of touring caravans on the site?
• Are there any issues with the site licence that may affect your occupation? This can be checked with Blaby District Council

Site Rules

Does the site have any site rules that you must comply with? All sites that have site rules will be published on this web page.

Conveyancing

If you are looking to purchase a mobile home, especially if it is as your permanent home, you are strongly advised to have conveyancing undertaken by a solicitor / legal adviser who has knowledge of this field. The solicitor / legal adviser should be able to make checks on planning and licensing for the site and if there are subsequent problems that they should have informed you about you can seek redress from them.

This advice applies whether you are looking to purchase the home directly from the site owner or from an existing mobile homeowner.

Selling a Home

There are rules on the selling of mobile home including how much commission the site owner can charge the resident on the sale of a property.

Useful Websites and Advice Documents

Further details on buying or selling a mobile home can be obtained from the external links section at the bottom of this page.

All caravan sites must have planning permission allowing the land to be used as a caravan site. The permission will detail the type of site and place conditions on it which can include:

• Whether the site is for permanent, seasonal or holiday occupation
• The number and type of caravans / mobile homes that can be stationed on the land
• Whether there are any restrictions on who can live there - for example, is it a site that is only designated for use by Gypsies and Travellers - and what is meant by that definition?

A caravan site licence cannot be granted if the site does not have the required planning permission. In addition, the site licence is governed by the planning permission so if there are any restrictions on the planning permission (for example, times of the year or it is temporary permission only), the site licence will mirror those conditions.

To apply for a caravan site licence you must use the correct application form, which can be obtained by contacting the Environmental Health department on 0116 272 7614. There are different forms for holiday sites and residential sites.

A fee is payable in respect of ‘relevant protected sites’ which are most sites that are not holiday sites. For a full definition of what is a ‘relevant protected site’ please read the “Definition of Caravan Sites” document.

Blaby District Council aims to process the application within two months of receiving a completed application. In some circumstances the deadline may be extended if both the Council and the applicant are in agreement for this to happen.

An application will only be determined as “completed” if all relevant sections are filled in, the fee (if applicable) is paid and all supporting documents are provided. Failure to provide the information required may lead to the application being delayed or refused.

Blaby District Council will only issue a licence for a “relevant protected site” if it is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so. In the event that an application is refused there is a right of appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Division).

The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 has given Councils the power to attach conditions to licences. These conditions can do the following functions:

• Restricting the occasions on which caravans are to be stationed, or the total number of caravans to be stationed at any time
• Controlling the types of caravans on site
• Regulating the positions in which caravans are to be stationed, and for regulating or prohibiting the placing of structures, vehicles and tents on the land
• Ensuring that amenities and supplies are adequate and maintained, including water, electrical, gas and oil installations
• Ensuring correct separation between caravans / mobile homes and other structures to minimise the risk of fire spreading
• Securing and maintaining adequate sanitary and other facilities, services and equipment

The Government have specified model standards which the local authority is directed to have regard to when deciding what (if any) conditions to attach to the site licence.

All new residential sites (except those with a planning condition restricting occupation to Gypsies and Travellers only) will have conditions based on the Model Standards 2008 for Caravan Sites in England.

The likely conditions that would be attached to a residential site licence can be found in the Site licence conditions for residential sites document.

The likely conditions that would be attached to a holiday site licence can be found in the Site licence conditions for holiday sites document.

Important Note

It is possible that conditions may be altered, omitted, or additional conditions added depending on the individual circumstances of the site.

Blaby District Council approved a Mobile Homes Fees and Inspection policy in 2019. The policy states the fees that are applicable for the various licensing functions including:

• Licence applications and transfers
• Variation of licences and conditions
• Annual fees
• Depositing site rules

The fees are based on the Government guidance on setting fees and are intended to be revenue-neutral.

A summary of the fees is in the tables below.

New, transfer or amendment of licence application fees

Annual licensing fees

The annual fee is charged at periodic intervals of either 12 months, 18 months, 2 years or 3 years depending on the risk rating (A to D) given to the site following an inspection. Site inspections are carried out at the same periodic intervals depending on the risk rating. The purpose of this is that the lower risk and more compliant sites require less frequent inspections and therefore cost less to regulate.

There are exemptions to annual fees and inspections for the following types of sites:

• Sites with three or fewer pitches
• Sites for the sole use of the owner and their families (does not include sites that are run for financial gain)

Although the above categories of sites are exempt from annual inspections, Blaby District Council have the authority to conduct inspections of these sites if it is deemed appropriate for example if there are concerns that licence condition may be being breached.

Depositing site rules is a standard fee of £155 irrespective of the size of the site or risk rating.

Site operators of “relevant protected sites” are allowed to set site rules but only if they follow the correct procedures which include consultation with the residents and depositing the rules with Blaby District Council. Once rules have been properly deposited they will form part of the express terms of the pitch agreement and therefore bind both the residents and the site owner.

The Regulations require site operators to send all residents and any residents’ associations a proposal notice detailing the proposed rules and the reasons for making them. The recipients of the notice must be given at least 28 days to respond and at the end of the consultation period, the site operator has 21 days to decide whether to amend any of the proposals.

Once the owner has notified the residents and any residents’ associations of their decision, the residents and residents’ associations have 21 days to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Division) if they object to any of the rules or believe that the correct process was not followed.

All site rules must be lodged with Blaby District Council for which a fee is applicable (see the section on fees) and the Council will publish them. The Council must publish the site rules as they are presented even if some of the rules are deemed to be unfair or are classed as “banned rules” (see below). Blaby District Council have no liability in respect of the site rules published on their website.

Banned Rules

The Regulations state that some rules are banned as they are unfair to residents. These include matters such as:

• Preventing the residents from making improvements to the unit or pitch
• Requiring visitors to report to the park office or only allowing visitors to stay when the resident is present
• Restricting the resident to purchasing goods or services from the site owner for example gas cylinders

It is the responsibility of the residents and residents’ associations to object to any rules they believe are unfair or constitute “banned rules” during the consultation process or on appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal. If site rules are published that contain “banned rules”, then those “banned rules” shall not be able to be enforced by the site operator.

Blaby District Council have no legal authority to enforce site rules, although where those site rules mirror existing site licence conditions the Council can take action under licensing powers.

Register of Site Rules

An up-to-date register of those sites who have lodged their Site Rules with Blaby District Council is below:

1. Castlewood Mobile Homes Park Nos 1 - 25, Hinckley Road, Sapcote, Leicestershire, LE9 4JZ
2. Castlewood Mobile Homes Park Nos 26 - 38, Hinckley Road, Sapcote, Leicestershire, LE9 4JZ

A copy of the site rules for any sites listed above can be found in the Downloads section on this webpage.

The forms that can be used by site operators to submit site rules are in the Downloads section on this webpage.

The following forms can be used by site operators to submit site rules.