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Residents' committees

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 16:57
Committee
Residents’ committees are a common feature of residential land lease communities and they have an important role. They can be a voice for residents, a source of information and support and the conduit between the operator and residents of the community. Many committees carry out a number of functions and some have sub-committees for particular purposes, for example to organise social activities. The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act (the Act) sets the rules around residents’ committees.
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How site fees are increased

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 16:42
Outasite article
It feels like every time we write an article about site fee increases in land lease communities we refer back to the review of the legislation and the fact that this was the biggest issue raised by park residents at that time. The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 brought a new approach to site fee increases and new measures that the Government said would alleviate the pressure of constantly increasing site fees. In this article we will look at how site fees are being increased and the potential impact on home owners in the short and long term.
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The benefits of assignment

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 16:31
Outasite article
In the last two issues of Outasite we have written articles about the assignment of site agreements. We have talked about the value of the right to assign, the campaign to keep that right and why we think NCAT got it wrong in the Farraway case. However, there is still some confusion, so in this article we will unpick the law and unpack the issues.
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Ron McLachlan: Resident Advocate

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 16:27
Ron and colleagues
Ron McLachlan is a former park resident and long time advocate for residents’ rights. He is a member of the Residential Parks Forum and Port Stephens Park Residents Association. We asked Ron to tell us about his life as a park resident and advocate.
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Community rules clarified

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 16:22
Advertisement from a Land Lease Community owner’s website
The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (the Act) brought many changes to land lease communities (residential parks) and one of the biggest was in the area of community rules. How rules are made and what they can be about has not changed significantly but who they apply to and how they are enforced has.
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Site maintenance: Who's responsible?

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 16:11
Outasite article
We never thought we would have to explore the question of responsibility for site maintenance because the answer seems so obvious – the operator owns the land so they have to maintain it. But that assumption is being challenged by some operators who are attempting to pass on significant repair and maintenance costs to home owners, exploiting what appears to be poor drafting in the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (the Act).
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Tales from the Tribunal

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 15:45
NCAT
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) hears disputes between land lease community operators and residents. Decisions that NCAT makes about disputes are not binding on other NCAT Members who hear similar disputes but they can provide guidance so it is useful to know what NCAT has decided about a particular issue.
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What is the Residential Parks Forum?

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 15:31
Rod and Margaret Nicoll – members of the Residential Parks Forum 
The Residential Parks Forum brings together advocates and lawyers from across NSW to share information and advocate for improvements to the rights of land lease community residents.
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Tara Steers: Tenant Advocate in South West NSW

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 15:24
Tara
Tara Steers is a Tenant Advocate in Albury. Up until the commencement of the Act in 2015 Tara had limited experience with land lease community residents but after accompanying the Tenants’ Union on a road trip, visiting communities along the Murray River, she developed a passion for the work. Tara is now highly regarded by land lease community residents in the area and her services are constantly in demand.
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Hastings Point Holiday Park: Closure

Tue, 29/08/2017 - 15:09
Beryl Anderson, Paul Smyth, and Judy Tucker at the final Tribunal hearing 
Hastings Point Holiday Park was once a thriving residential park nestled between the Tweed Coast Road and Cudgera Creek. That changed in 2006 when the park owner discussed gradual closure and redevelopment of the park to a luxury retirement living complex. The park owner held meetings with the residents and made promises about their future in return for their support for the development application. None of these eventuated. Instead, home owners had their agreements terminated and, in order to win reasonable compensation, they would have to fight seven lots of proceedings in six courts and tribunals over a period of five years. Here is their story.
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