I am an 85-year-old retiree. My wife, Lynn and I have lived at Burpengary Pines Over 50’s Village since 2015. This is a mixed park with both manufactured homes and caravan sites (these are both permanent and casual) each covered under their own legislation. This brings with it a different set of issues.
From the very beginning, I have been involved in our HOC. Our special interest is the dispute mechanism, its inadequacies, and the extended timelines experienced just getting to the QCAT hearing phase.
I have chosen to look at the bigger picture – State and Australia wide. Sixty percent of homeowners in residential parks throughout Queensland are single pensioners, and in the past eight years, the annual site fee increase, which is legal under the MHRP, has increased twice as fast as the single pensioner’s income, with many now forced to choose between food and medications just so that they are able to pay their rent in what was considered “affordable housing”.
