Caravan site licences

The purpose of a caravan site licence is to regulate the standard of the site for the safety and convenience of the occupiers. Amongst other things it ensures that:

• the number of caravans does not exceed a specified maximum
• there is adequate space between caravans to prevent spread of fire
• suitable fire precautions are present and maintained
• any liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is stored safely
• the electrical supply to the site is safe
• there are adequate facilities in terms of water supply, sanitation, washing facilities and drainage
• a sign is displayed at the site entrance in case of emergency.

The owner of the caravan site must have a caravan site licence, which is granted by Waverley Borough Council. Failure to do this may result in prosecution.

Application

Apply for a caravan site licence

Fees

Please read the Council's caravan site licensing fee policy

Exemptions - where a licence is not needed

A caravan site licence is not needed if:

• a caravan is parked in a drive (or within a property boundary) and is not lived in
• you are travelling with a single caravan and staying on land for one or two nights for a maximum of 28 days in any 12 months
• use of land of five acres or more by not more than three caravans at any one time for a maximum of 28 days in any 12 months
• the site is occupied and supervised by exempted organisations such as the Caravan Club
• the site is approved by exempted organisations for use by its members for recreation if not more than 5 caravans are stationed on the land
• meetings are organised by exempted organisations and lasting not more than five days
• the site is for seasonal agricultural and forestry workers
• site is a building and engineering site
• the site is occupied by travelling showmen
• the site is owned by the licensing authority
• it is a gypsy site owned by county councils

Transfer a licence to a new owner

If you have recently purchased a caravan site, please contact us for an application form to transfer the licence into your name.

Mobile Homes Act 2013

The Mobile Homes Act 2013 came into force on 1 April 2014. The new provisions include the ability for the local authority to charge the site owner a fee for applying for a site licence or to transfer or vary an existing licence and an annual fee system. Local authorities are able to refuse to grant a site licence where it considers the applicant is unsuitable to hold a licence. In addition the local authority is able to serve compliance notices where licence conditions are breached, with failure to comply an offence which could result in a fine. In addition, if the licence holder does not comply with the notice the local authority can do the works in default and recover the costs.

Public Register of Deposited Site Rules

The Mobile Homes Act 2013 requires that operators of residential caravan sites and mobile home parks deposit Site Rules with the local authority, once they have been agreed with the residents.  We do not enforce these rules, although some rules may be a duplicate of the site licence conditions.  The site rules are part of the contract between the home owner and site owner and supplement the Mobile Homes Act agreement.

We keep and publish a register of site rules.  The site rules have been written by the site owners and not by Waverley Borough Council.

• The Compasses Mobile Home Park
• Kingsmead Park

• Warren Park

Site Occupiers

For site occupiers, further information about how the changes affect you can be found in the booklet - Park Homes: know your rights

Public register

View the Public Register Of Licences And Registrations

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 us 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.

A site owner may only apply if they hold or have applied for a site licence for the site.

The application form for inclusion in the register is available to download. 

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: Request a basic DBS check

Application cost

The fee to be charged for all applications will be £249 except where an applicant is making applications in respect of more than one site within the Waverley Borough Council area and the relevant persons are the same. In this case the charge for each additional site will be £115 to take into account the reduced administration work involved.

A copy of our Caravan Site Fit & Proper Person Fee Policy is available to download.

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
• not being run on a commercial basis

The regulations provide further detail about this exemption: The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 

What we will consider

To be happy that the relevant person is a fit and proper person to manage the site, and to add them to the register, we 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.

We 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

We also may 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.

We can also consider any evidence on any other relevant matters.

Caravan Site Fit and Proper Person Register