Retirement villages, over-50s lifestyle resorts and residential parks are becoming popular with seniors seeking to downsize to affordable, community-oriented settings with onsite social scenes and health support.

The benefits promoted by these facilities are appealing but many people are spending a lot of money only to find the contractual and legal arrangements they’ve entered are not what they expected.

To counter some of the problems experienced by homeowners and residents, the Queensland Government is reviewing the laws for villages and parks as part of their commitments in the Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021–2025. 

The Queensland Government will be looking into:  

• issues arising in Parks regards Site Rent and Home Sales – an issues paper and survey has just been released (keep reading for more info), and  

• the Dispute Resolution process for retirement villages and parks disputes – find out more here. 

Similar past reviews have resulted in changes to the law that have benefited Queenslanders living in these types of accommodation. For example, the introduction of a buyback scheme for people living in retirement villages. This shows that speaking up can make a difference. We encourage you to have your say.  

The Queensland Government is keen to hear from homeowners about how the law could be changed to make things better for homeowners. There are two ways to have a say: 

1. Respond to the survey - tell your story. 

2. Read the issues paper and write a response 

Submissions close on 15 August 2022.

If you would like a paper copy of the issues paper or the survey, call 13QGOV (13 74 68). 

The government is especially interested in issues arising from site rent increases and unsold manufactured homes. For example:  

• affordability of site rent increases  

• difficulties understanding contractual arrangements for site rent and predicting future costs, and limited options if site rent becomes unaffordable  

• imbalance in the bargaining power between homeowners and park owners  

• consistency of the consumer price index (CPI) increases  

• problems with market reviews of rent including obtaining independent market valuations for market rent reviews, the limited basis for comparison between parks, and the difficulties disputing review outcomes  

• the approval process for special increases.  

Concerns have also been raised about the sale of manufactured homes in residential parks, such as:  

• the sales process and the lack of clarity about the timing and notifications involved  

• assigning existing site agreements to prospective homeowners  

• issues associated with park owners acting for selling manufactured homeowner, and the appointment of third-party selling agents by the park owner  

• proof of ownership of a manufactured home  

• issues for deceased estates.

The department says the Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021–2025 is improving Queenslanders’ access to: 

• pre-contractual advice about residential (manufactured home) parks and retirement villages. 

• timely and consistent decision-making to help them resolve housing issues and disputes. 

The department is also considering the outcome of a survey on consumer experiences with pre-contractual advice and dispute resolution in residential parks and retirement villages. 

Remember, laws in Australia can often differ between states/territories.  

You should always seek legal advice before entering a contract.  

In Queensland, prospective and current residents of retirement villages and manufactured home parks can receive free legal advice from Caxton Legal Centre.