Licensing system for mobile home sites with permanent residents: guidance for local authorities

Chapter 7 - Offences

7.1. For any licensing system to work effectively there must be consequences for not complying with the licensing regime and the measures it puts in place. The new mobile home licensing system introduced by the 2014 Act therefore includes a number of offences. For ease of reference these are set out below:

• Under section 32G of the 1960 Act it is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly provide information which is false or misleading in a material respect to a local authority in purported compliance with a request under section 32G(5). This covers information requested by a local authority to allow it to decide whether to transfer a licence without an application. If someone is convicted of this offence they can be fined up to level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000 at the time this guidance was published).
• Under section 32R(1) of the 1960 Act it is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly provide information which is false or misleading in a material respect to a local authority in purported compliance with
  • a requirement under section 32B (this covers information which must be included in a first site licence application or in an application to renew a site licence and other information that the authority may reasonably require),
  • a requirement under section 32E(3) (this covers the information required from the applicant and the transferee to allow the fit and proper test to be carried out in relation to an application for a transfer),
  • a requirement under section 32H (this covers the information which must be provided on the transmission of a site licence)
  • a requirement under section 32K (this covers the information regarding the appointment of a new site manager and change in circumstances)
• If someone is convicted of an offence under this section they can be fined up to level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000 at the time this guidance was published).
• Under section 32R(2) of the 1960 Act it is an offence for a site licence holder, without reasonable excuse-
  • to fail to notify a local authority in accordance with section 32K(1) and (2) of the 1960 (section 32K(1) requires notification to a local authority of the appointment of a new person to manage a site and any change in information held by the local authority caused by a change of circumstances and section 32K(2) sets out when those notifications must be made).
  • to fail to provide information in accordance with section 32K(3) and (4)(section 32K(3) requires the provision of additional information that the local authority may reasonably require in connection with the appointment and section 32K(4) provides the timescale for the provision of that information)
• If someone is convicted of this offence they can be fined up to level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000 at the time this guidance was published).
• Under section 32S of the 1960 Act it is an offence to run a relevant permanent site without a licence. If someone is convicted of the offence they can be fined up to £50,000.
• Under section 32T it is an offence for the holder of a Part 1A site licence to fail to comply with a site licence condition. If someone is convicted of this offence they can be fined up to £10,000.
• Under section 32V it is an offence to fail to take the steps specified in an Improvement Notice within the period specified. If someone is convicted of this offence they can be fined up to £10,000.

• Under regulation 11(1) of the 2016 Regulations it is an offence, if without reasonable excuse, the person contravenes regulation 10 (assistance to be provided to an interim manager).

• Under regulation 11(2) of the 2016 Regulations it is an offence for someone to intentionally obstruct an interim manager in the exercise of a power conferred on them under the 2016 Regulations.

• Regulation 12 of the 2016 Regulations makes provision whereby certain individuals can be liable where a body corporate, Scottish partnership or other unincorporated association has committed an offence under those Regulations.

7.2. Section 32Z5 of the 1960 Act ^[65] makes similar provision whereby certain individuals can be liable where a body corporate, a Scottish partnership, or another unincorporated association has committed an offence under Part 1 of the 1960 Act.

7.3 Section 1 of the 1960 Act makes it a criminal offence for someone to run a caravan site without a licence (unless one of the exemptions in the 1960 Act applies). However section 1 is modified so that it does not apply to the holder of a Part 1A site licence in relation to that person's use of the relevant permanent site which is the subject of a licence.

7.4. If a local authority considers an offence has been committed, it should consider contacting the local Procurator Fiscal who will assess the evidence presented, and decide whether or not to bring a prosecution.