Site Licence Holders: The Fit & Proper Person Test

Monday 19 August 2019

In late July the Government announced a long-awaited consultation into the proposed introduction of a Fit and Proper Person Test (“the Test”) for Site Licence Holders and Managers of residential mobile home parks in England. But how did we get here, and what is proposed for the Test?

How did we get here?

Substantive legislative change was imposed on the industry when the Mobile Homes Act 2013 (“the Act”) came into force.

Section 8 of the Act (which has not yet been brought into force) granted the Government the ability to introduce a requirement that residential mobile home sites be managed by a “fit and proper person”. A local authority would be tasked in determining whether or not an operator was a “fit and proper person”.

There was much discussion at the time as to whether or not what became known as the Test would be introduced; the Government indicated that the introduction of any such test would be dependent upon the effectiveness of the other provisions within the Act.

In 2017 the Government conducted a two-part consultation in which it asked for evidence to assess the effectiveness of the changes introduced by the Act and as part of which it sought views as to whether or not to introduce the Test . That consultation established that:

• Residents were in favour of the introduction of the Test
• Site owners were opposed (predominately on the basis that local authorities had sufficient powers already to address any poor site management); and
• Local authorities expressed some concern about how any Test would be implemented in practice

In response the Government announced that it would introduce the Test with the intention of improving the standards of management on residential park home sites.

What is the F&PPT?

Although regulations are awaited which will set out the exact procedure and the criteria against which a Site Licence Holder will be assessed, in principle the process will be as follows:

1. A Site Licence Holder will need to apply to their Local Authority to request that it’s included on a Register of Fit and Proper Persons;
2. The Local Authority will then need to consider a set list of criteria, in addition to other discretionary matters, to determine whether or not the Applicant is a ‘fit and proper person’

The mandatory criteria will include an Assessment of the Site Licence Holder’s ability to manage the residential park (e.g. from a financial perspective) and the Site Licence Holder’s conduct (split into professional conduct i.e. compliance with Site Licence obligations, and personal conduct i.e. their behaviour towards residents).

The discretionary criteria will allow the Local Authority to consider any other information it deems to be relevant to assess the fitness of the Applicant. The Government has been clear in indicating that this could include views expressed by the residents on site.

If the Site Licence Holder passes the Test, they will either (1) be included on the Register without any conditions attached or (2) if the Local Authority deems that they would only be a fit and proper person if certain conditions were complied with, the Site Licence Holder will be included on the Register subject to certain conditions.

Inclusion on the Register will not be indefinite and local authorities will have discretion to determine how long a Site Licence Holder can be deemed to be a fit and proper person, at the expiry of which the Site Licence Holder will need to re-apply to the Local Authority. The Government proposes that the maximum period of inclusion on the Register should be five years.

If a Site Licence Holder fails the Test, the Local Authority will be required to set out the reasons for its decision.

It will also be possible for a Site Licence Holder to challenge any decision reached by the Local Authority first by making representations to the Local Authority and thereafter, if necessary, appealing to the First Tier Tribunal.

Our next blog on this topic will address the practicalities of what happens if a site operator is deemed not to be a fit and proper person.

What now?

Have your say! The introduction of the Test will be one of the biggest changes to the site licensing regime for residential mobile home parks in years; it’s therefore important that you take this opportunity to engage.

You can respond to the consultation either online or via a response form which can be emailed or sent by post to the Government. The deadline for responses is Tuesday 17 September 2019.