Manufactured homes legislation changes

On 23 May 2024, Queensland Parliament passed amendments to the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 to improve consumer protection, and address concerns about site rent increases and sales in residential parks.

The Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Amendment Act 2024 received assent on 6 June 2024. The amendments are delivering a range of improvements and commence in stages throughout 2024, 2025 and 2026. This will provide time for consultation and implementation.

On 15 May 2025, the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Postponement Amendment Regulation 2025 (the Regulation) was made.

The Regulation postpones the automatic commencement of amendments that have not been commenced by proclamation on 7 June 2025 for 1 year to 7 June 2026. This will allow the staged implementation of the amendments as outlined above.

These amendments include those related to:

  • capital replacement plans
  • limiting bases for site rent increases to approved bases
  • improvements to streamline sales process and ensure new and up-to-date site agreements.

Amendments commencing on assent

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Site rent increases limited to 3.5% or CPI (whichever is higher)

The limit applies to all site rent increases for current and future home owners.

The limit is a ceiling and existing site rent increase bases (unless they are market rent reviews) are not replaced. Site agreements with terms that are more beneficial than the limit will not be affected.

Prohibition of market rent reviews

Park owners cannot use market rent reviews as a basis to increase site rent.

Market rent review clauses in existing site agreements are voided. Park owners can no longer use them to increase site rent.

If a site agreement includes a market rent review clause that is voided by these provisions, the park owner may instead use any alternative basis to increase site rent provided for in the site agreement.

If no alternative basis exists, the park owner may instead increase site rent based on CPI.

The Act allows park owners to have QCAT set a new increase basis if the alternative basis is not CPI and will not be enough to maintain the park’s viability.

Buyback and site rent reduction scheme introduction

The opt-in scheme encourages the timely sale of pre-owned manufactured homes.

An eligible home owner can ‘opt in’ to the buyback and rent reduction scheme if this criteria applies:

  • the home has been on the market for 6 months and hasn’t sold
  • the home is vacant
  • the park owner has been appointed to sell the home (if they offer selling services).

Six months after a home owner opts in to the scheme, the park owner must reduce the home owner’s site rent by 25%.

Twelve months after joining the scheme, the park owner must buy the manufactured home.

See the Act for details about the scheme operation, including home eligibility, and notification and valuation processes that home owners and park owners must follow. More resources and guidance material for home owners and park owners will be available soon.

Revised protections for home owners with terminated site agreement

Terminations are rare. However, if they do occur, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) will have more discretion to make appropriate orders.

When a site agreement is terminated, QCAT may order that the home be removed from the site or ownership be transferred to the park owner in exchange for compensation – if the transfer is appropriate and the home owner consents.

QCAT will be able to award compensation where appropriate, no matter why the site agreement is being terminated.

Amendments commencing 6 months after assent

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Multiple options to pay site rent, including fee-free

Park owners must offer home owners at least 3 approved ways to pay site rent, including at least 1 fee-free way. This amendment commences for new site agreements 6 months after assent.

Within 12 months after commencing, park owners must also offer this to home owners with existing site agreements.

This expands home owners’ choice and autonomy over how they pay site rent and gives them more flexibility to change this payment option if their circumstances change.

Amendments commencing on a date set by proclamation

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Maintenance and capital replacement plans

Not yet proclaimed to commence

Park owners will be required to prepare maintenance and capital replacement plans for the residential park. This will:

  • encourage park owners to be proactive about maintenance and capital replacement work
  • allow home owners to engage with park owners about emerging issues or priorities.

Park owners must provide the plans to the home owners committee and the department, and to other home owners on request.

Detailed requirements for these plans will be established in an approved form and regulation developed in consultation with key stakeholders.

Residential park comparison document requirements

Commenced 20 February 2025

Park owners will be required to prepare a park comparison document. They must host this document on a website for the park and include a document link on any website advertisements for the sale of a manufactured home.

The department will make a regulation that outlines the requirements for comparison documents. Generally it should include information about site rents, communal facilities, services and amenities, frequency and bases of site rent increases, and services and utilities included in site rent.

This amendment will help home owners better:

  • understand what they are buying
  • compare what a park is offering with that offered by other parks and forms of accommodation.

This will help them make informed decisions and drive competition, resulting in better outcomes for consumers.

Detailed requirements for these documents will be established in an approved form and regulation developed in consultation with key stakeholders.

Stronger registration requirements for residential parks

Commenced 20 February 2025

Park owners will be required to apply to register new parks. It will be an offence to operate an unregistered park.

All existing residential parks that are currently recorded will be considered registered.

The chief executive will require information to ensure a proposed residential park is suitable for registration. They can also request relevant information from park owners to ensure the register remains up to date.

New site agreement requirements

Commencing 6 December 2025

All buyers will be required to enter into a new site agreement with the park owner when buying a manufactured home.

The previous option to assign the seller’s site agreement to the buyer no longer applies, except where a person is transferring their interest in a manufactured home under a site agreement to a family member.

Some agreement terms, such as the utilities, communal facilities, services and other amenities included in site rent, must be the same in the new site agreement as it was in the seller’s site agreement.

The buyer and park owner may agree to vary the terms of the site agreement on these matters by signing a notice stating what the previous site agreement terms were, and what the new site agreement will be.

A site agreement will need to be in the approved form, and include the new requirements prescribed by regulation. An approved form site agreement will be published on the department’s website in due course.

Prescribed bases for rent increases

Commencing 6 December 2025

Site rent increase bases included in new site agreements will be limited to the bases for increasing site rent which are prescribed by regulation. These are:

  • the amount worked out by multiplying the site rent by the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
  • an amount worked out by multiplying the site rent by a stated percentage (for example, 3%)
  • a stated amount expressed in dollars (for example, $6 per year)
  • an amount worked out by apportioning, in a stated way, the relevant rates increase for the residential park among the home owners for the residential park
  • an amount that is the greater of the amounts under any 2 of the bases prescribed under paragraphs (a) to (d) (for example, the higher of CPI or 3.5%)
  • an amount that is the lesser of the amounts under any 2 of the bases prescribed under paragraphs (a) to (d) (for example, the lower of CPI or 3.5%)
  • an amount that is the sum of the amounts worked out using any 2 of the bases prescribed under paragraph (a) to (d) (for example, CPI + 1%).

The prescribed site rent increase bases work in conjunction with an annual limit on site rent increases at the higher of CPI or 3.5%, which commenced on 6 June 2024.

If a site rent increase calculated through an approved basis is higher than the annual limit, the increase will be capped at the higher of CPI or 3.5%.

Precontractual disclosure process

Commencing 6 December 2025

The precontractual disclosure process will be simplified.

At least 21 days before the park owner enters the site agreement, a prospective buyer must be given a copy of:

  • the residential park comparison document
  • a Home Owners Information Document (replacing a current initial disclosure document and supplementary disclosure document)
  • a copy of the site agreement.

Home owners can still reduce this precontractual disclosure period down to seven days by seeking legal advice, and providing a waiver signed by their lawyer waiving their right to a 21-day precontractual disclosure period.

A Home Owners Information Document containing prescribed information about a home owners rights and responsibilities under the Act will be published on the department’s website in due course.

Requirements for sale agreements

Commencing 6 December 2025

Sale agreements for the sale of a manufactured home on site in a residential park will need to include the following information prescribed by regulation:

  • the name, address, phone number and email address of the seller, buyer and if applicable, their agents and solicitors
  • the name and address of the residential park, the park owners name, address, phone number and email address, and the location of the site on which the manufactured home is located
  • the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and any unique identifying numbers or features of the manufactured home
  • items attached or affixed that are not included in the sale of the home
  • details of any alterations or additions made to the home, and any applications relevant to those alterations or additions known by the seller
  • the sale price of the manufactured home, and how and when payment is to be made
  • the day ownership is transferred, and how ownership will be shared if there are multiple buyers
  • details of the home owners right to terminate a site agreement in the cooling-off period, and the circumstances where this will automatically end the sale agreement.
Payment options for existing home owners

Commencing 6 December 2025

On 6 December 2024, new provisions commenced requiring park owners to provide home owners multiple payment options for paying site rent under their site agreement.

The amendments included a transitional provision providing park owners up to 12 months to transition existing home owners onto this arrangement.

This means that before 6 December 2025, park owners must have provided all existing home owners a notice nominating at least 3 approved ways of paying site rent, ensuring at least 1 option does not impose additional fees, and allowing them to change their existing way of paying site rent by providing a notice to the park owner if they choose to do so.

Supporting information

Reforms to the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 were developed after consultation with manufactured home owners, residential park owners and other stakeholders and in accordance with steps required by the Queensland Government Better Regulation Policy.

Consultation documents

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Consultation documents

Help and advice

Manufactured homeowners can access free legal information and advice through the Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service.