The fit and proper person test is an assessment that is carried out by the local authority on site licence holders and managers who operate a park home site. The test is intended to improve the standards of park home site management and to ensure that the person responsible for managing a park home site is suitable and of good character.
After carrying out the assessment, the local authority must be satisfied that the owner of the land is:
- a fit and proper person to manage the site;
- or, (if the owner doesn’t manage the site) that the person appointed by the owner to be the manager is fit and proper to do so.
In September 2020, the English Government published the Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be a Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020.
The regulations will be brought into force in two stages:
- Stage one will give local authorities in England until 1st July 2021 to prepare to receive applications from site owners (or “occupiers”), establish their processes for making and issuing decisions, and establish a fit and proper person register for their local area.
- Stage two will provide 3 months from the end of Stage 1 for site owners/licence holders to submit completed applications to local authorities. The deadline for applications is 1st October 2021.
Once the regulations have been brought into force all site licence holders and managers will be required to be included on the local register of fit and proper persons. This requirement has already applied to regulated park home sites in Wales since 2014.
More information:
- Who will the fit and proper person test apply to?
- When will the Fit and Proper person test come into force in England?
- What will happen if the site licence holder or manager fails the fit and proper person test?
- If a resident thinks a manager is not fit and proper, will the Local Authority take this into account?
- Government’s response to technical consultation
- Fit and Proper Person Test, England: Countdown to Implementation
