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New laws for park residents

Paul and Len
On 1 November 2015 the laws governing the relationship between park owners and park residents changed. In fact, parks are not even called parks any more - the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 renames them “residential communities”. So, what does this mean for residents of these communities? Find out in the first Issue of Outasite!
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What is a special levy?

Outasite article
Under the new Act if home owners want a new facility or an improvement to the community and the operator refuses to fund it, the home owners can vote to pay for it. This is a special levy.
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Understanding the ins and outs of utility charges

Outasite article
In the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 electricity, gas, water and sewerage service are dealt with under the generic term ‘utility’.
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New rules for operators

Outasite article
During the review of the Residential Parks Act 1998 one of the key issues raised by residents was the conduct of operators. Many stories were told about interference with the sale of homes, harassment and intimidation by operators. The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 contains a number of new provisions in relation to operator behaviour, including new rules of conduct.
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New rules in communities

Gnome
Community rules (previously called park rules) are about the use, enjoyment, control and management of a community. Unlike the Residential Parks Act 1998, the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 does not set specific subject matter for rules so they can be about anything that fits into these general themes.
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Never give up! The campaign to keep assignment

Christina
When the draft Residential (Land Lease) Communities Bill was first released in April 2013 one of the big concerns residents and advocates had was that under the new Act residents would lose the right to assign their site agreements. The draft Bill seemed to favour operators, providing weaker assignment provisions than those available in the Residential Parks Act 1998.
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It's gold! The value of your site agreement

Keep calm
One of the most concerning changes in the new Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 is the introduction of ‘voluntary sharing arrangements’. Under the voluntary sharing arrangement provisions an operator can offer new site agreements that include entry and exit fees and entitle the operator to a share in the sale price, or in any future capital gain on a home when it is sold.
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A home under the gum trees

House
Everyone loves a big, beautiful, shady tree in the backyard or by the side of the road … except, of course, when that tree’s overhanging branches threaten to fall during a storm and cause personal injury or damage to a home.
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Selling your home

Outasite article
The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (the Act) introduces some new and necessary rights for home owners in the area of home sales. Selling a home on-site without interference should be a basic and easily enforceable right but this has not always been the case. Hopefully the new provisions will change this.
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Emergency access in your park

Boom gate
It is an operator’s responsibility to ensure that emergency service vehicles can access a park. We spoke to a park resident about the emergency access issues he faced in his park.
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