This submission outlines the relevant topics being brought to the table with the current issues paper and also has addressed points from previous submissions as major problems raised by the Alliance and Queensland Manufactured Home Owners under the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 to the relevant departments and their agents.
Submission dated: 31st July 2022
The Amendments made to the Act and passed under royal assent in 2010 and 2017/2019 under the Regulations umbrellaed by the Covid Emergency Bill 2020 provided a huge power inequity and imbalance in conscious favour of the corporate park owners and failed to address the Main Object of the Act:
**The Specific content of this submission is to address the Communities, Housing and Digital Economy – Issues Paper Released for Consultation**
The Main Object of this Act is to regulate and promote fair trading practices in, the operation of residential parks – An objective that has been mismanaged and circumvented by the Queensland State Government bolstering corporate park owners’ unscrupulous business practices at the expense of the Queensland home owners in real time on a daily basis.
1(a) to protect home owners from unfair business practices;
2(b) to enable home owners, and prospective home owners, to make informed choices by being fully aware of their rights and responsibilities in their relationship with park owners.
Having met and spoken to many Members of Parliament, the Alliance is drawing their attention to a housing sector in crisis where rent increases are outstripping the fixed incomes of many of the home owners. This housing market sector predominantly consists of older Australians and many disabled pensioners who are presently being outpriced out of their own homes. It will continue to follow this trend if the Manufactured Homes Act is not revisited in all areas that have been raised and to bring this legislation more in line to protect the homeowner’s future and restrain these unfair and unethical corporate business practices, as well as holding these entities more accountable in all areas.
The Queensland State Government now has the opportunity to make the necessary amendments required and immediately write and pass these amendments to the Manufactured Homes Act now before the crisis in the manufactured homes sector deepens to the point it is irrecoverable, irreparable and the Act will not be fit for the purpose it was established for.
The Act was not created to protect corporate park owners and their shareholders profits.
Recommendations to Protect Home Owners
The Alliance has submitted recommendation solution papers and submissions to both the current majority Queensland State Government and members of Parliament from every political party in the Queensland State Parliament.
The Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy Issues Paper released in June 2022 for consultation is addressed and dissected in the following pages. The Alliance outline the following points raised, which, from the Queensland Home Owners and the Alliance as their State Representatives and advocates’ viewpoint are adamant about their need for change now!
The major points at present that every home owner and the Alliance are forcibly pushing to be changed, can be condensed into the bullet points below. The other many other contentious points of the 2010, 2017/ 2019 Amendments within the Manufactured Home (Residential Parks) Act 2003 will also be raised as the progress of discussions and meetings with stakeholders continues.
