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What it takes to keep a TAAS running - Interview with Carol Allen, Administration and Finance at Murra Mia Tenant Advocacy Service

Carol Allen, Administration and Finance at Murra Mia Tenant Advocacy Service
Murra Mia Tenant Advocacy Service advocates on behalf of Aboriginal tenants in their catchment area, which covers Wollongong down to the Victorian border, across to Griffith and Wagga Wagga and Dareton. They are currently working with other Aboriginal organisations in the area to form an alliance to ensure Aboriginal clients are able to access services available through different Government and non-Government organisations.
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Local Government Regulations

The Grange
When you live in, or operate, a land lease community the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act (RLLC Act) is not the only legislation you need to know about. The Local Government (Manufactured Home Estates, Caravan Parks, Camping Grounds and Moveable Dwellings) Regulation (the Regulation) also has a significant role.
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Abandoned and alone

The Grauls’ home
Residential land lease community law recognises that people who purchase homes in these communities need to be compensated if the operator takes away the leasehold right on the land where their home is situated.
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Wrong Agreement? Don't panic - get legal advice

David
Contract law and the rules for contract formation play a key part in everyday life and land lease communities are no different – everything flows from the contract. Contracts or agreements are usually made in writing but what if you have an agreement that is not in writing, or the agreement is different to the one you should have been given? Here we look at two matters that ended up at NCAT during late 2017 and early 2018. One where the home-owner had no written signed agreement and the other where the homeowners were given the wrong type of agreement applicable to their circumstances.
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Site fee increase disputes at NCAT

NCAT
Excessive site fee increases rarely make it to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) since the introduction of the compulsory mediation process. However, in 2017 some home owners at Gateway Lifestyle Redhead could not reach an agreement with the operator and they did go to the Tribunal.
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Power to the people at a reasonable price

Power to the people
With the commencement of the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 on 1 November 2015, the method for calculating consumption charges for electricity, gas and water changed. The Tenants’ Union has published articles, a report and held discussions with home owners, Tenant Advocates, the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman (EWON) and NSW Fair Trading to explain that operators should not and cannot charge more than they are charged by utility providers.
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Buyer beware

Outasite article
“Buyer beware” appears to have become an unintentional theme in this issue of Outasite with various articles highlighting some of the pitfalls for home owners who purchase a home in a land lease community only to discover later that all is not as it should be.
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Home Sales: Rights, responsibilities and rules

For sale
When the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 commenced on 1 November 2015 all terms of existing site agreements that prohibited or placed restrictions on the sale of homes on site became void. The RLLC Act provides all home owners with the right to sell their home on site, including those in communities situated within a Crown Reserve.
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Vale Christina

Christina
On 9 January 2018 Christina Steel passed away after a long illness, which she fought to her last day. She was hoping to see the end of Game of Thrones and she almost made it.
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Perseverance pays off

Robin
When Robyn Meyers decided to sell her home, she did not expect to have to make multiple Tribunal applications to do so. Her home was located in a residential community in Byron Bay. Property prices in Byron Bay are at a premium, and many people working there cannot afford to live there. The home belonged to Robyn’s mother and after her death legal ownership was passed to Robyn, as well as the site agreement.
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