Manufactured home owners to have greater certainty on rent increases

• New laws to deliver greater protections and cost-of-living certainty for manufactured home owners
• First stage of reforms including removing market reviews of site rent and limiting site rent increases to the higher of CPI or 3.5 per cent
• Reforms will also simplify the sales process, improve transparency, and establish a buyback and site rent reduction scheme for unsold homes.

Thousands of Queenslanders living in manufactured homes will now have fairer and more predictable site rent increases after reforms passed by the Miles Government in state parliament.

The Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Amendment Bill 2024 makes conditions fairer for residents living in manufactured homes in residential parks.

The reforms provide greater protections and cost-of-living certainty for home owners.

These reforms include:

• prohibiting market rent reviews
• limiting site rent increases to the higher of CPI or 3.5 per cent
• an opt-in buyback and site reduction scheme for homes on the market for more than 18 months
• fairer processes for terminating site agreements and compensating home owners
• changes to the definition of CPI to align it more closely with increases in the aged pension.

In six months, further reforms will come into effect requiring multiple site rent payment options on new site agreements, making it easier and more convenient to pay rent.

Park owners will be given 12 months to roll out these options to all existing home owners.

Other key reforms in the Bill will commence by proclamation at a later date including:

• residential park comparison documents
• changes to home-selling processes
• new registration requirements for residential parks
• requirements around maintenance and capital replacement plans.

The reforms aim to balance the interests of residents and park owners following extensive community consultation.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Housing, Local Government, Planning and Minister for Public Works Meaghan Scanlon:

“These reforms will bring cost of living relief and certainty for the thousands of manufactured home park residents across Queensland.

“Unlike the LNP who have repeatedly refused to engage with manufactured home owners, the Miles Government has listened and we have acted.

“These reforms will bring confidence for both park owners and residents.”

Quotes attributable to Queensland Manufactured Home Owners Association president Dr Roger Marshall:

"This Bill provides greater consumer protections for owners of manufactured homes and go a long way towards addressing some of their long-held concerns, particularly those in relation to excessive increases in site rents and the sale of home."

Further information:

The Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 (MHRP Act) regulates and promotes fair trading practices at residential parks to protect home owners from unfair business practices and to enable them to make informed choices.

Residential park home owners own their own home and rent the land it from a park owner.

In 2013, there were 168 residential parks in Queensland containing 14,000 manufactured home sites, and in 2024 (as at 31 March), there were 203 residential parks with 25,513 sites, home to around 38,000 residents.

It is estimated that there will be some 10,000 more manufactured homes in 55 new residential parks planned for development within the next decade.

ENDS