A win for park residents in court
09/05/2016
Two permanent residents of Homestead Holiday Park (Gennacker Pty Ltd) on the Tweed River have finally won a lengthy court battle against their park owner.
The park owner had given them a no-grounds notice of termination in 2012, and claimed the residents were not covered by the Residential Parks Act 1998 (then in force). The park owner argued instead that they were covered by the Holiday Parks (Long Term Casual Occupation) Act 2002. This would have left the residents facing immediate eviction.
Paul Smyth, the Tenants’ Union Residential Parks Legal Officer, has been assisting these residents with the matter on an ongoing basis since April 2013. In a decision by the NSW Court of Appeal on 29 April 2016, the Court found the occupation agreement was not void, and that the home owners have protection under the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (the R(LL)C Act).
This means the residents can stay in their home without restriction. In addition the Court of Appeal ordered the park owner pay the full legal costs of the home owners.
This decision is a significant win for the residents at Homestead, and will have wider impact. If you’d like to read the decision you can find it here. Look out for our full summary in the next edition of Outasite Lite, issue 25.