Submission: Response to the Discussion Paper on the Statutory Review of the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013

The Tenants’ Union welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Discussion Paper on the Statutory Review of the Residential Land Lease Communities Act (2013). In the lead up to the statutory review in August last year we made available our Report on 5 years of the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (see below). In this, we identified a number of positive changes introduced in the 2013 Act, as well as a number of key areas in which the Act has fallen short of expected or hoped for outcomes. This submission builds on and reiterates the discussion and recommendations set out in our earlier Report.

To assist us to respond to the review we also surveyed 300 home owners during August to October 2020 on a range of issues including site fees and site fee increases, operator conduct, and dealing with disputes. In writing this submission we have considered the survey responses, along with feedback from resident organisation and resident committee representatives and Tenant Advocates who are members of our Residential Land Lease Communities Forum.

Part 1 of our submission sets out our recommendations, including those on matters not raised in the Discussion Paper that we believe need to be addressed as part of the review. Part 2 of our submission directly addresses the questions raised in the Discussion Paper, with a focus on the impact the Act has had on home owners.