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Mobile home site licensing – site owners

Last updated
4 Sep 2019

A new licensing system for mobile home sites started on 1 May 2017.

The new licensing system strengthens the rights of those living on mobile homes sites with permanent residents.

The main changes to the licensing system include:

  • giving local councils new powers for granting, managing and revoking licences
  • introducing a fixed 5 year period for site licences
  • a requirement that site licence holders (and anyone managing a site) are fit and proper
  • an appeal process so that anyone applying for a site licence can appeal against a local council's decision

You can read the new licensing system in full in Part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014.

You need a site licence to run a permanent residential mobile home site. You must apply to your local council for a licence.

If you got a licence before 1 May 2017, you needed to apply for a new one by 1 May 2019.

If you're running a permanent residential mobile home site without a licence, you could be fined up to £50,000. If you do not have a licence, you should contact your local council.

Sites the new system applies to

The new licensing system is aimed at permanent residential mobile home sites.

This means you need a licence if you own a site that:

  • is licensed to have permanent, year-round residents
  • is a 'mixed use' site – one with both residential units and holiday units

If you own a site that only has holiday units and isn't licensed to have permanent residents, you will not need a licence under the new system.

Applying for a new licence

The new site licensing system is run by local councils. If you want to apply for a licence, contact your local council and ask to speak to officials responsible for licensing of mobile home sites with permanent residents.

This is usually part of the Planning Department or Environmental Services Department, but it may be different depending on the council area.

You may have to pay a fee for your new site licence. This will be set by your local council – ask them for more information.

Aberdeen City Council Aberdeenshire Council Angus Council Argyll and Bute Council Cairngorms National Park Authority Clackmannanshire Council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) Dumfries & Galloway Council Dundee City Council East Ayrshire Council East Dunbartonshire Council East Lothian Council East Renfrewshire Council Edinburgh Council Falkirk Council Fife Council Glasgow City Council Highland Council Inverclyde Council Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority Midlothian Council Moray Council North Ayrshire Council North Lanarkshire Council Orkney Islands Council Perth & Kinross Council Renfrewshire Council Scottish Borders Council Shetland Islands Council South Ayrshire Council South Lanarkshire Council Stirling Council West Dunbartonshire Council West Lothian Council

Fit and proper person test

Anyone who applies for a new site licence will have a 'fit and proper person test'.

This test is there to make sure the person holding the site licence (and the person who manages the site, if it's someone else) is an appropriate person to have one.

The fit and proper person test is used when someone:

  • applies for their first site licence
  • applies to renew a site licence
  • applies to transfer a site licence

If someone isn't fit and proper to hold a licence, the local council may decide to apply to the sheriff court to revoke (take away) the licence.

Advice and information

For more advice and information on the new mobile home licensing system, visit:

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