Changes are coming

COVID-19 Update

When we last published Outasite Lite at the beginning of April the COVID-19 pandemic was in its early stages and the NSW Government had just issued the first Public Health Order restricting the gathering and movement of people. In May and June those restrictions were eased slightly and from 1 July they will be eased further.

In land lease communities the restrictions meant community facilities had to be closed and social activities cancelled. Some operators removed staff completely and required all contact to be through email or phone and all payments to be made electronically.

The Tenants’ Union is aware that some operators have approached the COVID-19 issue with sensitivity. They have kept home owners informed and maintained normal services as far as possible. We acknowledge and applaud those operators who have decided not to increase site fees this year. We also acknowledge those operators who have postponed increases to a later date.

We note with disappointment that some operators adopted a business as usual attitude and increased site fees as scheduled despite the reduction in facilities and the possibility that home owners may be experiencing a reduction in income. We encourage home owners who are able, to challenge these increases as excessive given the prospect there has been no increase, or even a decrease in operating costs.

Moving forward

From 1 July all community facilities should be open again but numbers in community centres, halls and swimming pools will be limited to one person per 4 square metres. Organised events such as social activities cannot have more than 20 participants and it is a good idea to develop a COVID-19 safety plan for the premises (in some cases this is required).

Caravan parks can open fully with no limit on the number of tourists allowed on the grounds. However, all premises within the caravan park must have a COVID-19 safety plan in place.

Home owners can now have up to 20 visitors to their home but caution should still be exercised, particularly where a member of the household is a vulnerable person.

And outside the community, places of worship, galleries and museums, cafes and restaurants, pubs and clubs are all open with restrictions.

For full details of restrictions and requirements go to the website https://www.nsw.gov.au/

News from the Tenants' Union

Outasite magazine – please update your details

Many of you also receive our print publication Outasite and we are pleased to announce it will be published as usual this year. We anticipate the 2020 issue hitting your mailboxes in August so if you need to subscribe or update your details, please do so by 10 July. The best way to do this is to click the 'Update your details' link at the bottom of your Outasite Lite email. When you click that link an email will be sent to you with a personal link to update your profile (so no one else can view or update your details).

Another way to update your details (or subscribe a new address) is to use the general subscribe form here: http://eepurl.com/JBMVb – please note that if you are already subscribed and you use this form you will get a message saying you are already subscribed and that a personal link to update your preferences has been emailed to you. Please click on the personal link in that email to update your details.

Also, if you get the Outasite Lite email newsletter at two email addresses, please unsubscribe your least favourite address so that we can avoid duplication. 

If you have trouble updating your profile, please email us at the Tenants' Union.

Remember, you can choose to receive extra copies to pass on to your family and friends - just let us know how many copies you want. You don’t need to be a member of the TU to receive our publications and they are all free.

Website upgrade

Our website for land lease community residents, the noticeboard.org.au is currently undergoing a revamp and the new-look site will be launched in a couple of months.

The noticeboard contains lots of information about land lease community law, how local government regulations apply to land lease communities, the work of the Tenants’ Union and all current and past issues of Outasite and Outasite Lite.

More details about the new site will be available in Outasite magazine.

Click here to download a pdf of Outasite Lite 37

See also Recently at NCAT – Outasite Lite 37