This article was written by Simone Garcia, Legal Practitioner at W & G Lawyers. For further information about Simone Garcia’s professional background, legal experience, and areas of practice, please click on her name to view her full profile.
Across South East Queensland, a booming housing option is being marketed under a variety of appealing names: “over-50s resorts”, “lifestyle villages”, “land lease communities”, “active living estates”. The brochures promise resort-style facilities, community spirit, low maintenance living, and financial freedom in retirement.
What the brochures do not always make clear is the legal framework you are actually entering — and the significant long-term financial and legal obligations that come with it.
This article explains how these arrangements work, what the risks are, and why obtaining independent legal advice before signing is not just a good idea — it is essential.
1. The Marketing Labels — And What They Actually Mean
Terms like “lifestyle resort”, “over-50s village”, and “land lease community” have no specific legal definition or regulatory meaning under Queensland law. They are marketing terms. When you strip away the branding, what you are almost always looking at is a manufactured home arrangement governed by the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 (Qld).
Under this model:
- You purchase and own the physical home (the structure itself).
- You do NOT own the land the home sits on.
- You enter into a Site Agreement with the park operator to lease the land on an ongoing basis.
- You pay site rent — typically weekly or monthly — for as long as you own and occupy the home.
The home itself may look identical to a house on a standard “block”. It may be architecturally designed, double-brick, or feature high-end finishes. But the legal framework underneath it is fundamentally different from buying a house on freehold land — and those differences have serious practical consequences.
2. How the Model Actually Works
The Site Agreement — The Document That Controls Everything
The Site Agreement is the legal contract between the homeowner and the park operator. It governs:
- The amount of site rent you pay and how it will increase over time
- Your rights to use communal facilities (pool, gym, clubhouse, gardens)
- Park rules you must comply with
- What happens when you want to sell your home
- Your ability to make alterations to the home or site
- How disputes are resolved
This is not a short document. With all required disclosure forms, the documentation package for a new site agreement can run to over 100 pages. And unlike a standard residential property purchase — where the contract is a relatively standardised REIQ form — manufactured home documentation varies significantly between parks.
You Own the Home — But Can You Really Move It?
One of the most important things to understand about this model is that while the home is technically “relocatable”, relocation is rarely practical. Moving a manufactured home is extremely costly — often tens of thousands of dollars — and many park operators will not accept a home relocated from another site. This means that in practice, once you purchase a home in a park, you are tied to that park and that operator.
This power imbalance lies at the heart of many of the disputes that led Queensland Parliament to significantly reform the Act in 2024 and 2025.
Site Rent — An Ongoing and Increasing Commitment
Unlike a traditional home purchase where the mortgage eventually ends, site rent never ends. You will pay site rent for the entire time you own and occupy the home. And that rent increases annually.
Under the 2024 reforms — effective from June 2024 — site rent increases are now capped at the higher of CPI or 3.5% per annum, and market-rent reviews have been prohibited. Before these reforms, many park operators used market-review clauses to justify large, unpredictable rent increases, which became a serious cost-of-living crisis for many residents — particularly retirees relying on the age pension.
The Queensland Manufactured Home Owners Association reported that in many parks, rents had risen to consume more than 30% of the age pension, often with no corresponding improvement in facilities or services.
3. The Specific Risks Buyers Need to Understand
Risk 1: You Cannot Freely Sell Your Home
Selling a manufactured home is not like listing a house on the open market. The home physically sits within a park, and the incoming buyer must be accepted by the park operator and enter into a new Site Agreement. If the operator is uncooperative, or if the terms they offer new buyers are less attractive than your existing agreement, selling can be very difficult.
Under the new December 2025 reforms, buyers must now enter into fresh Site Agreements (rather than simply taking over the seller’s agreement). While the core benefits must be preserved, this change means buyers can no longer inherit the potentially more favourable terms negotiated by earlier residents.
Risk 2: The Home May Sit Unsold for Months
Before the 2024 reforms, homeowners who wanted to leave could find themselves continuing to pay full site rent on an empty, unsold home — sometimes for years. The new legislation introduced a buyback scheme: after a home has been on the market and unsold for a defined period, the park operator must reduce the site rent and ultimately purchase the home at an agreed price. However, this scheme involves a complex timeline and valuation process, and disputes can still arise.
Risk 3: Site Rent Compounds Over Decades
If you move into a park at age 60 and live there for 25 years, you will pay site rent every year of that time — with annual increases. Projecting the long-term cost of site rent is a critical part of any financial assessment before purchase, and it is something many buyers do not adequately model.
Risk 4: The Documentation is Overwhelming
The pre-contractual disclosure package — Forms 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, and now the new Home Owners Information Document — can exceed 100 pages in total. The 21-day review period (or 7 days with legal advice) exists for a reason: this material is complex and requires careful review. Many buyers, feeling excited or pressured, and do not read it thoroughly.
Risk 5: Park Rules Can Significantly Restrict Your Lifestyle
Park rules — which are incorporated into or attached to your Site Agreement — can govern a wide range of matters: pet ownership, visitor stays, parking, noise, alterations to the home, and even the appearance of your garden. Breaching park rules can be grounds for termination of your Site Agreement. These rules should be read carefully before any commitment is made.
Risk 6: The Park May Be Redeveloped
Residential parks can be sold to new operators or redeveloped. While legislation provides homeowners with protections in the event of termination of a site agreement, being forced to relocate — whether through redevelopment or site agreement termination — can be financially and emotionally devastating. Understanding the tenure of the park and any planned redevelopment is important due diligence.
4. What the December 2025 Reforms Changed — and What They Did Not
The reforms commencing 6 December 2025 represent the most significant update to manufactured home regulation in Queensland in many years. Key changes include:
- New site agreements required for all buyers (not assignment of old agreements)
- 21-day pre-contractual disclosure period (or 7 days with legal advice)
- Site rent increases capped at the higher of CPI or 3.5%
- Market-rent reviews prohibited
- Mandatory fee-free payment method for site rent
- Detailed sale agreement requirements including full property description
- New Home Owners Information Document replacing earlier disclosure forms
These are meaningful improvements. But they do not eliminate the fundamental risks of the model. The cap on rent increases still allows annual increases. The new site agreement requirements still bind buyers to the park operator for the long term. And the complexity of the documentation remains substantial.
In short: the law is better than it was. But it still requires careful navigation.
5. Why You Need Independent Legal Advice Before Signing
Queensland law now requires a 21-day disclosure period before a Site Agreement is signed. This window exists precisely to allow buyers to obtain independent legal advice. Here is why using it matters:
A Solicitor Will Identify Terms That Could Harm You
Not all Site Agreements are identical. While the prescribed Form 2 sets a standard template, additional terms, schedules, and park rules vary significantly between operators. A solicitor experienced in manufactured home transactions will identify:
- Rent increase clauses that may be more aggressive than required
- Unusual or onerous park rules
- Restrictions on alterations, pets, or subletting
- Terms governing what happens on your death or incapacity
- Provisions relating to sale and transfer of the home
A Solicitor Will Explain Your Rights and Obligations
Many buyers sign without fully understanding what a Site Agreement commits them to. A solicitor will explain the long-term financial obligation, the dispute resolution process under QCAT, your rights if the park is sold, and your rights if you want to exit the arrangement.
A Solicitor Can Negotiate on Your Behalf
While park operators use standard-form documents, some terms may be negotiable. A solicitor can identify where there is room to seek better terms and communicate professionally with the operator or their legal team on your behalf.
A Solicitor Coordinates with Your Financial Adviser
The decision to purchase a manufactured home is often made in the context of a broader retirement planning decision — selling a family home, accessing superannuation, or applying for the age pension. A solicitor can work alongside your financial adviser to ensure the legal and financial dimensions are properly integrated.
The Cost of Advice is Trivial Compared to the Risk
A manufactured home may cost anywhere from $150,000 to $700,000 or more, plus a lifetime of site rent. The cost of engaging a solicitor to review a Site Agreement and advise on the transaction is a very small proportion of the total financial commitment — and potentially the most important investment you make in the process.
How W & G Lawyers Can Help
At W & G Lawyers, our commercial property team has experience advising both homeowners and park operators across all aspects of manufactured home transactions in Queensland. We assist clients with:
- Reviewing and explaining Site Agreements, park rules, and disclosure documents
- Advising on your rights and obligations before and after purchase
- Coordinating advice with your financial planner or accountant
- Negotiating terms with park operators or their representatives
- Preparing or reviewing manufactured home sale agreements
- Advising on disputes with park operators, including representation at QCAT
- Advising estates where a deceased person owned a manufactured home
We speak English and Mandarin Chinese, and we work with clients across South East Queensland from our Shailer Park office.
Whether you are a first-time buyer excited about a lifestyle village, an existing homeowner uncertain about your rights under the new laws, or a family member helping a loved one navigate the process — we are here to help you understand what you are signing before you sign it.
Resources
https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2003-074
https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2024-028
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Tabled-Papers/docs/5825t1213/5825t1213.pdf
https://www.housing.qld.gov.au/news-publications/legislation/manufactured-homes
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/service-industries-professionals/housing-accommodation/managing-manufactured-homes/understanding
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/service-industries-professionals/housing-accommodation/managing-manufactured-homes
https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/residential-parks-manufactured-homes-department-of-communities-housing-and-digital-economy
https://www.housing.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/87493/form-2-site-agreement-updated.pdf
https://www.housing.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/74019/manufactured-home-form-16.pdf
https://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/case-types/community-living-and-body-corporate-disputes/manufactured-home-parks-dispute-process/manufactured-homes
https://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/case-types/community-living-and-body-corporate-disputes
https://www.qls.com.au/register-of-solicitors
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