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Land lease communities and manufactured home estates
| What you own | The dwelling[1] |
|---|---|
| What you lease | The site, as a leasehold right only[2] |
| NSW legislation | Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013[3] |
| QLD legislation | Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003[4] |
| NSW scale | 35,000+ residents, 500+ communities[1] |
| QLD site rent cap (2024 reform) | Greater of CPI or 3.5%[5] |
| QLD market rent reviews | Voided[5] |
| Recurring charge | Site fees, paid indefinitely[6] |
| *Rules differ substantially by state and were amended in both NSW and Queensland in 2024. Verify current terms with the relevant state agency. | |
In a land lease community the resident owns the dwelling but leases only the site from the operator, paying site fees indefinitely; in New South Wales this is governed by the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013.[1][2][3][6] In Queensland the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 applies, and 2024 reforms capped site rent increases at the greater of CPI or 3.5% and voided market rent reviews.[4][5][7]
In a land lease community — also called a residential park, manufactured home estate or lifestyle community — the resident owns the dwelling and leases the ground beneath it from a community operator.[1] The home is usually a factory-built manufactured or transportable dwelling, which is why the model sits inside the scope of this knowledge base: a large number of Australian modular and transportable builders supply into it.
This is not a smaller version of freehold ownership. It is a different tenure, governed by its own state legislation, with its own recurring charge and its own exit mechanics. The NSW standard site agreement states the position in one line: occupation of the residential site is a leasehold right only, and the agreement may be terminated in circumstances set out in the Act.[2]
The scale is not marginal. More than 35,000 people live in over 500 residential land lease communities in New South Wales alone.[1]
Which law applies §
| Jurisdiction | Governing Act | Recent amendment |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013[3] | Amendment Act 2024, in force Sep–Dec 2024[1] |
| Queensland | Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003[4] | Amendment Act 2024, assented 6 June 2024, staged to 2026[5] |
| Western Australia | Not covered by sources compiled here | — |
| Victoria, SA, TAS, ACT, NT | Not covered by sources compiled here | — |
Both major statutes were substantially amended in 2024, and the Queensland changes were still commencing in stages through 2026.[5] Anything written about this sector before mid-2024 should be treated as out of date.
One distinction the NSW standard agreement makes explicitly: a residential community is not a retirement village, and is regulated under a different Act.[2] The two are frequently confused, and the financial structures differ.
Site fees §
Site fees are the recurrent charge for leasing the ground. NSW Fair Trading describes them as generally covering maintenance and the operating expenses of running the community.[6] They are paid indefinitely, and unlike a mortgage they do not end.
The NSW rules on how they are set are relatively tight at the start. Initial site fees must be set out in the site agreement and are negotiable, but cannot exceed the higher of what the outgoing home owner for that site was paying, or the fees for sites of similar size and location within the same community.[6] An operator cannot require payment more than a fortnight in advance, must provide at least one cost-free way of paying, and must give a receipt for fees paid in person.[6]
How they rise is where the two states now differ sharply.
New South Wales — two methods
- Fixed method
- Must be written into the site agreement. The operator must give at least 14 days notice before each scheduled increase and show how the method has been applied.[8][9] A fixed method increase cannot be challenged as excessive under the Act.[8]
- Increase by notice
- Can be challenged. NSW Fair Trading appoints a mediator; if mediation fails, home owners may apply to NCAT within 14 days. NCAT may consider the frequency and amount of past increases, actual or projected increases in the community's outgoings and operating expenses, and repairs or improvements planned or carried out since the last increase.[8]
Where a site agreement specifies more than one method, the method producing the lowest increase applies.[8]
The practical consequence is that the increase mechanism written into the agreement at signing determines whether future increases are contestable at all. That clause is not a formality.
Queensland — capped since 2024
Queensland took a different route. Under the 2024 amendments, site rent increases in existing and new site agreements are capped at no more than the greater of CPI and 3.5 per cent, and market rent review provisions in existing site agreements are voided outright — park owners can no longer use them.[5][7] The Department describes the limit as a ceiling that does not replace existing bases of increase, with agreements on more beneficial terms unaffected.[5]
Park owners were given a two-year window to apply to QCAT for an order varying a site agreement where a park would not be commercially viable as a result of the ban on market reviews.[7]
Western Australia
For site-only agreements, industry guidance reports that site fees generally cannot be increased more than once every 12 months, with at least 60 days written notice before an increase takes effect.[10]
Buying in — the disclosure regime §
Queensland runs the more prescriptive pre-contract process. A park owner must give a prospective home owner:
- Form 1A — initial disclosure document, at least 21 days before the sale[4]
- Form 1B — supplementary disclosure document, at least 14 days before signing[4]
- Form 16 — residential park comparison document, at least 21 days before entering the site agreement[11]
The 21-day period can be reduced to seven days by signing a disclosure waiver, Form 1C.[4][11] The documents must cover the responsibilities of both parties under sections 16 and 17 of the Act, the rights of termination and of assignment or transfer of the site agreement, and a recommendation that the person obtain legal advice before entering into or transferring a site agreement.[4]
There is a cooling-off period under section 33 of the Queensland Act, and where the site agreement is terminated during it, the sale agreement for the home terminates as well.[12] Where the park owner has not given the required disclosure documents, that cooling-off period is 28 days from the day after the last person signed.[12]
In New South Wales, the standard form site agreement itself states that the home owner has the right to be given time to read it and to obtain independent legal, financial or other advice before signing.[2]
Getting out §
This is the part of the model that differs most from freehold, and it is worth reading before signing rather than after.
Selling. In Queensland a park owner must not restrict a home owner from placing a suitable 'for sale' sign where the site agreement allows it, and must not hinder the sale — for example by discouraging potential buyers.[11] Assignment of a site agreement has effect only if the park owner consents.[13]
When a home does not sell. The 2024 Queensland reforms introduced an opt-in scheme under which, if a home has not sold within six months of an opt-in notice being given, the park owner must apply a site rent reduction of 25 per cent.[7] Site fees continue to run on an unsold home; that reduction addresses part, not all, of that exposure.
Termination. Where a site agreement is terminated in Queensland, QCAT may order that the home be removed from the site, or that ownership be transferred to the park owner in exchange for compensation — the latter only if the transfer is appropriate and the home owner consents.[5][13] The Form 18 information sheet puts the same point to home owners directly: on termination you may be required to remove the home from the park or transfer ownership to the park owner.[13]
A manufactured home is a physical object on someone else's land. That is the structural fact underlying every exit provision above.
Disputes. Most disputes under the Queensland Act must proceed through a staged dispute resolution process before QCAT will consider them.[13] Free legal information and advice is available through the Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service.[5]
Park rules §
Communities operate under park rules that the operator can change. In Queensland, to change a rule the park owner must notify home owners, explain how to object, and allow at least 28 days for objections.[13] In NSW the Act contains a separate part dealing with community rules, including which subject matter they may cover, requirements that they be consistent with other laws, prohibited rules and enforcement.[3]
The financial arguments — and what is not established §
Commercial guidance for this sector commonly makes three claims: that there is no deferred management fee, no stamp duty on the home purchase in most states, and that the resident keeps the capital gain on sale.[14] These are the sector's own marketing propositions. They were not independently verified against state revenue legislation for this page, and stamp duty treatment differs by jurisdiction.
On Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the mechanism is documented by government: CRA is non-taxable, paid fortnightly at 75 cents for every dollar of rent above a minimum threshold up to a maximum rate, and requires receipt of a qualifying payment.[15] Commercial guidance reports that site fees are treated as rent for CRA purposes.[14] Current thresholds and maximum rates are indexed twice yearly and are not stated here; sources consulted quoted three different maximum single rates for 2026. Services Australia publishes the current figures.
The NSW Act itself contains a further mechanism worth knowing exists: voluntary sharing arrangements, under which a site agreement may provide for the operator to share in a future sale. The Act makes such an arrangement void where the contracting party waived their right to obtain independent advice about it before entering into the agreement.[3] Where one is present, it changes the "keep the capital gain" proposition materially.
What this page does not cover §
The Victorian, South Australian, Tasmanian, ACT and Northern Territory frameworks were not established from the sources compiled here and are marked as not covered rather than assumed to follow NSW or Queensland.
Stamp duty, land tax and capital gains tax treatment of manufactured homes and site agreements is not covered here. Finance is a separate question again — lending against a dwelling on leased land differs from a standard mortgage and is not addressed by the sources compiled for this page.
Nothing here is legal or financial advice. Both the NSW standard site agreement and the Queensland disclosure regime recommend obtaining independent legal advice before signing, and that recommendation is written into the instruments themselves.[2][4]
Sent to info@modularlivingaustralia.com.au and handled by a person. See Privacy.
References §
- NSW Government (Have Your Say) — Residential land lease communities statutory review — more than 35,000 people live in over 500 residential land lease communities across NSW; in a residential land lease community the resident owns the home they live in but leases the land from the community operator. The laws cover permanent sites in caravan and residential parks. Twenty-one of the 48 recommendations of the statutory review were implemented by the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Amendment Act 2024, passed 21 June 2024, with changes commencing in September and December 2024, including improved clarity and transparency on site fee increases and a new price cap for electricity in communities with embedded networks. haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/residential-land-lease-communities
- NSW Fair Trading — Standard form residential site agreement, Residential (Land Lease) Communities Regulation 2015 Schedule 1 — states that the home owner has the right to be given time to read the agreement and to obtain independent legal, financial or other advice before signing; that a residential community is not a retirement village and the agreement is regulated by the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013; and that occupation of the residential site is a leasehold right only, which may be terminated in limited circumstances set out in the Act. fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/367882/Standard_form_of_site_agreement.pdf
- NSW legislation — Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 No 97 — objects include setting out rights and obligations of operators and home owners, enabling prospective home owners to make informed choices, establishing dispute resolution procedures, and protecting home owners from bullying, intimidation and unfair business practices. Defines site fees as money paid by a home owner to an operator on a periodic basis for occupation of a residential site under a site agreement, and provides that a site agreement gives rise to a tenancy. Includes provisions on voluntary sharing arrangements, which are void if the contracting party waived the right to obtain independent advice before entering into them. legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2013-097
- Queensland Law Handbook — Manufactured home parks — agreements and contracts — the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 imposes disclosure and legal obligations on park owners, requires a standard information document and site agreement, and specifies obligations a park owner cannot contract out of. Pre-contractual disclosure documents comprise Form 1A (initial disclosure, at least 21 days before sale), Form 1B (supplementary disclosure, at least 14 days before signing) and Form 1C (disclosure waiver). Documents must cover home owner and park owner responsibilities under sections 16–17, rights of termination and assignment or transfer of the site agreement, and a recommendation to obtain legal advice. queenslandlawhandbook.org.au/the-queensland-law-handbook/living-and-working-in-society/other-accommodation-options/manufactured-home-parks-agreements-and-contracts/
- Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works — Manufactured homes legislation changes — the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Amendment Act 2024 received assent on 6 June 2024, with amendments commencing in stages through 2024, 2025 and 2026. A limit applies to all site rent increases for current and future home owners; the limit is a ceiling and does not replace existing bases of increase, and agreements with more beneficial terms are unaffected. Park owners cannot use market rent reviews to increase site rent, and market rent review clauses in existing site agreements are voided. Where a site agreement is terminated, QCAT may order that the home be removed from the site or that ownership be transferred to the park owner in exchange for compensation, if the transfer is appropriate and the home owner consents. Free legal information and advice is available through the Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service. housing.qld.gov.au/news-publications/legislation/manufactured-homes
- NSW Government (formerly NSW Fair Trading) — Site fees in residential land lease communities — site fees are the recurrent charges each homeowner pays for leasing a site, generally used for maintenance and operating expenses. Initial site fees must be set out in the site agreement and are negotiable, but cannot be higher than what the outgoing homeowner for the site was paying or the fees for sites of similar size and location in the community, whichever is higher. An operator cannot require payment of site fees more than a fortnight in advance, must provide at least one cost-free payment method, and must give a receipt for fees paid in person. nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/community-living/residential-land-lease-communities/site-fees
- HopgoodGanim Lawyers — Analysis of the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Amendment Bill — site rent increases in existing and new site agreements capped at no more than the greater of CPI and 3.5 per cent; market review provisions of no effect; where an existing agreement has an alternative basis of increase that may be used instead, and where none exists CPI applies. Describes a buyback opt-in scheme under which, if a home has not sold within six months of an opt-in notice, the park owner must apply a site rent reduction of 25 per cent. Notes park owners may apply to QCAT within two years for an order varying a site agreement where the park would not be commercially viable as a result of the ban on market reviews. Law-firm commentary published while the Bill was before Parliament. hopgoodganim.com.au/news-insights/amendments-to-the-manufactured-homes-residential-parks-act-2003-introduced-to-the-queensland-parliament/
- Tenants' Union of NSW — Site fee increases in land lease communities factsheet — two methods of increase exist, fixed method and increase by notice. A fixed method increase must be written into the site agreement, requires at least 14 days notice before each scheduled increase, and cannot be challenged as excessive under the Act. Where a site agreement specifies more than one method, the method producing the lowest increase applies. For increases by notice, NSW Fair Trading appoints a mediator; if mediation fails, home owners may apply to NCAT within 14 days. NCAT may consider the frequency and amount of past increases, actual or projected increases in the community's outgoings and operating expenses, and repairs or improvements planned or carried out since the last increase. tenants.org.au/thenoticeboard/factsheet/site-fee-increases
- NSW Fair Trading — Notice of site fee increase form, Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 Part 6 — a fixed-method notice must be served at least 14 days before the increased site fees are payable and must show how the fixed method has been applied. fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/367840/Notice_of_site_fee_increase.pdf
- UDIA Western Australia — What is a land lease community — fees paid to the community operator generally cover use of the land, upkeep of common areas and access to shared facilities, and may contribute to site management, security, rubbish collection and maintenance. In Western Australia, for site-only agreements, site fees generally cannot be increased more than once every 12 months and the operator must give at least 60 days written notice before an increase takes effect. Industry-association guidance. udiawa.com.au/buyers/tips-for-purchasers/what-is-a-land-lease-community/
- Business Queensland — Responsibilities during sales transactions of manufactured homes — before entering into a site agreement with a prospective buyer, a park owner must supply pre-contractual disclosure documents including the residential park comparison document (Form 16) at least 21 days before entering the site agreement, reducible to seven days by a disclosure waiver (Form 1C). A park owner must not restrict a home owner from placing a suitable 'for sale' sign where the site agreement allows it, or hinder the sale. business.qld.gov.au/industries/housing-accommodation/managing-manufactured-homes/sales-transaction-responsibilities
- Lexology / law firm commentary — Recent updates to the Queensland Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) legislation — the Manufactured Home (Residential Parks) Amendment Bill 2024 passed the Queensland Parliament on 23 May 2024. A buyer of a manufactured home has a cooling-off period under section 33 of the Act allowing termination of the site agreement, and under section 34 termination during that period also terminates the sale agreement for the home. Where the park owner has not given the prospective home owner the disclosure documents required under section 29, the cooling-off period is 28 days commencing the day after the last person signed the site agreement. lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5afe466f-1082-472e-8f8a-8561f4195cea
- Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works — Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 Form 18 information sheet, December 2025 — in some circumstances a site agreement may be terminated, in which case the home owner may be required to remove the manufactured home from the residential park or transfer ownership of the home to the park owner. To change a park rule, the park owner must notify home owners, provide information on how to object, and allow at least 28 days for objections. Assignment of a site agreement has effect only if the park owner consents. Most disputes under the Act must proceed through staged dispute resolution before QCAT can consider them. housing.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0034/87658/manufactured-home-form-18.pdf
- Over55s.au — Land-lease communities guide, 2026 — describes the model as owning the home and leasing the land, with no deferred management fee and no stamp duty on the home purchase in most states, and the homeowner retaining capital gain on sale. Reports that site fees are treated as rent for Commonwealth Rent Assistance purposes where the resident receives an eligible payment, and that non-homeowners receive an additional assets-test threshold. Commercial guidance; figures cited are indexed and change. over55s.au/guide/land-lease-explained
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare — Commonwealth Rent Assistance eligibility and payments — CRA is non-taxable and paid fortnightly at 75 cents for every dollar of rent above a minimum rental threshold until a maximum rate is reached. Eligibility requires receipt of a qualifying payment and liability to pay more than a specified rent threshold. CRA is not payable to tenants leasing from state and territory housing authorities. aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/cwlth-rent-assistance-in-australia-quarterly-data/contents/cra-eligibility-and-payments
Figures are as published by the sources above at their respective dates and are paraphrased summaries, not verbatim reproductions. Verify current pricing and rules directly with builders, lenders and planning authorities.