The previous State Government introduced reforms to the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act in 2024 to improve consumer protection for home park residents and to address concerns about site rent increases and sales in residential parks.

As part of those 2024 reforms, the most important item has been the limitation of site rent increases to CPI or 3.5 percent. Other reforms include:

• banning market-based rent reviews that have previously been used to justify rental hikes; and
• allowing an opt-in buyback and site rent reduction scheme to be introduced in individual parks for homes on the market for more than 12 months.

A number of other reforms have already commenced or will commence on 6 December, including:

• park owners must offer homeowners at least 3 approved ways to pay site rent, including at least 1 fee-free way;
• park owners are required to prepare a park comparison document (including information such as site rents, communal facilities, services, and amenities) and host this document on a website for the park; and
• park owners are required to apply to register new parks (all existing residential parks that are currently recorded are considered registered).

However, the next round of reforms flowing from the 2024 Act has been deferred or halted by the new State Government. This decision by the new government means you must wait an extra year to get:

• a requirement for park owners to prepare maintenance and capital replacement plans for the residential park. This would encourage park owners to be proactive about maintenance and capital replacement work, and allow homeowners and homeowner committees to engage with park owners about emerging issues or priorities.

These protections may not just be delayed but completely abandoned.

The regulation to delay or defer these protections under the 2024 Act can be changed in Parliament. The Opposition has formally moved in Parliament that this regulation be disallowed. 

If our disallowance motion is successful, that means the government has to commence the rest of the 2024 reforms now.

If you want to help pressure the new government to get the rest of the reforms happening, feel free to email [email protected]. For example, you may want to share why it is important to have capital replacement and maintenance plans that every resident can see, and have their say on what should be in it.

 Watch my latest speech in Parliament on the home park reforms on YouTube:
🎥 https://youtu.be/CYUdnomvxZ0?si=U9ZiYMo8D2T50dgF [9:46]