Buying a Caravan Park With Permanent Residents: Value, Rent and Exit
Accommodation Finance
Caravan park acquisition · Permanent residents · Site fees and exit
Permanent residents change what you are buying. The sale can transfer regulated site-fee income, occupancy obligations, resident-owned homes sitting on your land and future closure or buyback liabilities. This guide follows the buyer from the listing and offer through valuation, settlement, the first year, refinance and exit.
Quick Answer
Buying a caravan park with permanent residents means buying regulated income and inherited occupancy obligations. Existing agreements usually continue after settlement, you cannot simply reset site fees or remove residents, resident-owned homes may sit outside lender security, and closing or converting sites can require long notice periods and compensation.
Also called: a caravan park with permanents, a holiday park with permanent residents, a mixed residential and tourist park, a park with long-term residents. A residential park or land lease community is a park where most or all sites are residential.
What changes when you buy a caravan park with permanent residents?
Permanent sites give a buyer year-round income, but they also reduce how freely the new owner can reprice, recover or redevelop those sites. The buyer inherits the agreements and operating obligations that support the income, so the purchase price, valuation, lender advance and eventual exit all depend on what those documents actually allow.
A buyer also takes on records a tourist park does not carry. Each long-term site sits under a residential agreement, some homes belong to the residents rather than the park, and the operating approval or registration fixes how many long-term sites the park may run. In Victoria a caravan is likely someone's residence once it has been their main home for 60 days in a row; how many days turn a tourist stay into a long stay in the other states is covered in the pre-purchase caravan park checklist. Most of these parks sell under the structure in the freehold going concern definition, so the land, the business and the agreements change hands together.
Do you own the permanent residents' homes when you buy the park?
Not automatically. A resident-owned manufactured home, cabin or caravan can sit on land you own while the resident owns the structure and rents only the site. That dwelling may sit outside the lender's property security, so confirm ownership site by site against the agreements, sale records and asset register rather than assuming every structure visible on the land is included in the purchase. The lender reads the finance effect and the legal status of each structure from that site-by-site ownership map.
| Area | What permanent sites give | What they take away |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Site fees that do not follow the tourist season | Freedom to reprice sites to the market each season |
| Home upkeep | Resident-owned homes are maintained by their owners | Control over those homes, which a buyer has to track site by site |
| Growth | A predictable increase path written into each agreement | Growth above what the agreement and state law allow, whatever the sale memorandum projects |
| Exit | A possible conversion path toward a residential park model | A cheap exit: closing sites carries notice and, in Victoria and New South Wales, compensation |
| Lenders | Income a valuer can read straight from the agreements | A narrower lender field where too much value sits in resident-owned structures or occupancy that is difficult to unwind |
What happens to permanent residents when a caravan park is sold?
A sale does not usually wipe permanent residents' rights. In Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland the operating park generally changes hands with the existing occupancy framework intact, while South Australia and Western Australia have sale-specific vacant-possession rules that can matter before settlement. Price the actual agreement type on each site, not a blanket assumption that a change of owner clears the park.
| State | Do the agreements survive the sale? | What residents must be told |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | A sale of a park that keeps operating generally has no effect on residents' agreements | There is no obligation to tell residents about the sale, although they will need to know where to pay rent |
| New South Wales | Yes: a site agreement can end only on grounds the law lists, such as serious breach, unpaid site fees, closure or change of use, or compulsory acquisition, and a change of owner is not one of them | The operator must still offer at least one cost-free way to pay site fees |
| Queensland (manufactured home owners) | Yes: the new owner gets the same benefits and obligations under the existing site agreements | Within 14 days, every home owner gets the new owner's name, business address and where to pay rent; the department is told within 28 days on a Form 10 |
| Queensland (caravan and site tenancies) | Tenancies can continue under the new owner | The outgoing owner gives tenants an attornment notice naming the new owner and an address for service; rent unpaid at transfer stays a debt owed to the previous owner unless that right is passed on |
| Western Australia | Yes, unless the sale contract requires vacant possession. Under s 41 "Termination if vacant possession required on sale of park", notice is at least 60 days for an on-site home agreement and at least 180 days for a site-only agreement, and a tenant who owns a relocatable home on a fixed term cannot be required to leave before the term ends unless they agree in writing | A tenant whose agreement is ended this way is entitled to compensation for loss caused by the termination |
| South Australia | The new owner takes on existing site agreements and fixed terms run to expiry, but a periodic site agreement can be ended on 60 days' notice unless the resident has lived in the park for more than 5 years | A periodic tenant renting both site and dwelling can be given 28 days' notice where vacant possession is needed for the sale |
Sources: Tenants Victoria, rental home is being sold (caravan park), last updated June 2026; Business Queensland, changing residential park ownership; Residential Tenancies Authority, moveable dwelling park closure fact sheet; Government of South Australia, ending a residential park tenancy early; Consumer Protection WA, Form RP1D notice of termination (sale of park). All read 24 September 2026. Tasmania is not in this table because its Residential Parks Bill 2026, passed on 13 August 2026, commences on a day to be proclaimed; have a Tasmanian solicitor confirm the transition position before exchange.
A mixed Queensland park runs under two Acts at once: the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 for owner-occupied manufactured homes, and the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 for rented caravans, caravan sites and rented manufactured homes. A buyer checks which Act governs each site before modelling the income, and asks for any arrears to be assigned in the contract, because they otherwise stay with the vendor.
The residents are searching at the same time as the buyer, from the other side: will the rent go up, can we be moved, who do we pay now. The answers are in the rules a new owner inherits, set out in the new owner's first-year obligations, and a buyer who plans the first letter to residents before settlement avoids disputes that would otherwise sit in the next buyer's due diligence.
What should be handed over at settlement?
The handover pack should reconcile the signed site agreements to the rent roll and include each site's last increase notice, arrears and credits, current resident contact details, open breach or tribunal matters, park-rule notices, pending home sales and any money or records that must be transferred or adjusted under the contract. In Queensland, also hand over the current Form 16 park comparison document, the MCRP, home-sale files and every active buyback notice or valuation. Have the sale contract deal expressly with receivables such as arrears rather than assuming they pass automatically.
What happens when a resident later sells their home matters as much as the park sale, because it decides whether resale ever resets the income. The rules differ sharply by state.
| State | What happens to the agreement | What it means for the park's income |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria (Part 4A site tenants) | The seller can assign the remaining agreement to the buyer with the site owner's consent, which cannot be unreasonably refused and carries no fee. The site owner can charge a sale commission only if the agreement sets it out. | The site keeps its existing terms; resale does not reset the rent |
| New South Wales | The incoming homeowner signs a site agreement, but the first site fee cannot be higher than the outgoing homeowner's fee or the fee for similar sites, whichever is higher | Resale is not a reset to market rent |
| Queensland | Since 6 December 2025 every buyer of a home signs a new site agreement; assignment is no longer available except for a transfer to a family member | Each resale moves the site onto the prescribed increase bases, still under the annual cap |
| South Australia (deceased estates) | When a site resident dies and the estate sells, the park owner gets first option to buy the home at an agreed market value; the option lapses if no agreement is reached within 28 days | A route to bring homes into park stock at market value |
Sources: NSW Government, ending a site agreement and site fees, both last updated 22 September 2025; Consumer Affairs Victoria, site agreements, last updated 7 July 2026; Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works, manufactured homes legislation changes, last updated 13 July 2026; Consumer and Business Services SA, residential parks Q&A fact sheet, updated 29 September 2025. All read 24 September 2026.
A leasehold park adds one more layer. In Victoria a site agreement cannot run longer than the park owner's own lease of the land, so a buyer of a leasehold park compares the head lease term with every site agreement, a question freehold going concern versus leasehold sets in context.
How do valuers and lenders value a park with permanent residents?
Valuers and lenders work from income and assets the documents support, not the upside in the sale memorandum. The park is usually valued as a going concern, so the signed site agreements, approved site numbers, ownership of each dwelling and any closure or buyback liability are read together with the land and trading business.
A lender checks first whether the income in the sale memorandum matches the signed agreements and the approved site numbers. Where it does not, the valuation follows the documents. The inputs that move the figure most are:
- The agreements themselves. The increase method each agreement allows sets how fast the income can grow, and the state increase limits set the outer edge.
- Who owns the homes. Resident-owned homes and park-owned homes are read differently, and homes the park sold to residents on terms are a separate question again.
- Approved long-term site numbers. Income from more long-term sites than the approval or registration allows is at risk and is often discounted.
- Exit liability. Any notice and compensation cost of closing or converting sites sits against the value.
How a lender turns the valuation into an advance is covered in what a lender advances on a going concern valuation.
From our broking, indicative
In practice, the permanent-site count by itself does not set the gearing. The harder files are the ones where resident-owned dwellings have been treated as park assets, protected occupancy limits the lender's exit, or the agreements and approval do not support the income in the memorandum. The caravan park LVR breakdown by site mix explains the distinction. The files that stall or decline usually share one of these:
- Site agreements nobody read before the offer, so the income case rests on the vendor's summary
- Homes owned by the park but sold to residents on terms, which blurs who owns what and what the park really earns
- A closure or conversion liability that surfaces late instead of being disclosed up front
- An approval or registration showing fewer long-term sites than the park actually trades
Indicative, from Switchboard's recent broking files as at September 2026. Not a quote or offer; lender policy and the valuation decide the actual figure. Not financial advice.
How much can you increase site fees for permanent residents in each state?
Queensland caps ordinary annual site rent increases at the higher of CPI or 3.5 per cent. Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia instead control increases through the agreement, permitted review method, minimum interval, notice and dispute rights. Tasmania's Residential Parks Bill 2026 passed Parliament on 13 August 2026 and commences on a day to be proclaimed.
| State | How often and notice | How much and method | Dispute path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria (caravan park residents) | Once in any 12 months; at least 90 days' notice for rent and 60 days for hiring charges | No statutory cap on the amount; the agreement sets the method | The resident can ask Consumer Affairs Victoria for a rent assessment, then apply to VCAT within 30 days of the report |
| Victoria (Part 4A site tenants) | Once in any 12 months; 28 days' notice for a fixed-method increase, 90 days for a non-fixed increase | Only on the basis the site agreement states; no stated basis means no increase at all | Rent assessment for non-fixed increases only, then VCAT within 30 days of the report |
| New South Wales | Fixed method: at most once a year (twice if tied to the age pension), 14 days' notice. Increase by notice: once in any 12 months, 60 days' notice | A fixed method uses a single element such as CPI, a set amount or a set percentage; no statutory cap on an increase by notice | An increase by notice can be challenged once 25 per cent of homeowners object: mediation within 30 days, then the Tribunal within 14 days of failed mediation. Fixed-method increases cannot be taken to the Tribunal |
| Queensland | An annual limit applies to every site rent increase | Capped at the higher of CPI or 3.5 per cent; market rent review clauses are void; agreements from 6 December 2025 may only use prescribed bases (CPI, a stated percentage, a stated amount, a rates share, or set combinations of these) | QCAT; a park owner left with an unworkable fallback basis can ask QCAT to set a new one |
| South Australia | Not within 12 months of the agreement date or the last increase; at least 60 days' written notice | No statutory cap; a fixed-term agreement excludes increases during the term unless it allows them; entry, exit and deferred fees are not allowed | SACAT can declare an increase excessive on a resident's application made within 30 days of the notice |
| Western Australia | At least 12 months apart on site-only agreements and 6 months on on-site home agreements; at least 60 days' written notice | A single basis per review date (CPI, a percentage or a set amount); no market rent review in agreements made on or after 31 January 2022 | State Administrative Tribunal; a park owner can seek a cost-driven increase under s 63A if the tenant does not agree within 28 days |
| Tasmania | Residential Parks Bill 2026 passed Parliament on 13 August 2026; it commences on a day to be proclaimed | The new Act regulates rent and allowed charges once in force; do not model it as operative until commencement is confirmed | The new Act establishes dispute processes once commenced; check the current proclamation status before relying on it |
Sources: Consumer Affairs Victoria, rent rules and repairs, last updated 16 August 2026; NSW Government, site fee increase disputes, last updated 22 September 2025; Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works, manufactured homes legislation changes, last updated 13 July 2026; Consumer Protection WA, rent increases in residential parks bulletin, published 29 April 2025; Consumer and Business Services SA, residential parks Q&A fact sheet, updated 29 September 2025; Tasmanian Government, Residential Parks Bill passes the Tasmanian Parliament, 13 August 2026. All read 24 September 2026. The Northern Territory and the ACT are not covered in this table; check the current rules with a solicitor there.
Can you increase permanent residents' site fees as soon as you settle?
Usually not just because ownership changed. The next increase has to follow the existing agreement and the state rules, including the minimum interval measured from the vendor's last increase. That means a park-wide increase shortly before sale can push the buyer's first increase months into the future. In Queensland the ordinary annual increase also remains subject to the higher-of-CPI-or-3.5-per-cent cap.
Two details change a buyer's income model. In Victoria, a site agreement entered into after 1 July 2026 must use the standard form Part 4A site agreement, and the notice to a prospective site tenant shows the rent after 1, 2, 5 and 10 years under each fixed-increase method, so newer agreements come with their own growth forecast. In Western Australia, agreements made before 31 January 2022 can still carry a market rent review based on a licensed valuer's report, so a WA park's older agreements may have more room to grow than its newer ones.
What do Queensland's buyback scheme and maintenance plans mean for a park buyer?
They are two cash-flow issues a Queensland buyer can inherit. The buyback scheme can reduce site rent and later require the park owner to buy an eligible unsold home, while the maintenance and capital replacement plan makes future common-area and capital work visible and requires the owner to take reasonable steps to implement the plan. Both should be treated as acquisition liabilities, not post-settlement surprises.
How does the buyback scheme run?
- Eligibility. The home must be on a site in the park and must not have been brought onto the site, or another site in the park, by its current or a former home owner.
- Entry. A home owner can opt in once the home has been on the market for 6 months without selling and is vacant, and the park owner has either been appointed to sell it or said it offers no selling service.
- Resale value. The two sides must agree a resale value within 14 days of opting in, or appoint a valuer, and revisit it at 6 and 9 months if the home has not sold.
- Rent reduction. 6 months after the home owner opts in, the park owner must cut that site's rent by 25 per cent.
- Buyback. 12 months after the home owner opts in, the park owner must buy the home at the agreed resale value. QCAT can grant a once-off 6-month extension where every reasonable attempt to sell has been made, or a repeatable extension where buying would cause undue hardship.
The same rules cap what a park earns for selling homes on residents' behalf: where the sale price is more than $18,000, at most $900 plus 2.5 per cent of the price above $18,000, and at most 5 per cent at $18,000 or less, and only where the park was the effective cause of the sale. A bought-back home becomes park stock to resell or rent, which a lender reads as a park-owned asset rather than site income. Every vacant home listed for sale at the time of purchase is a possible future purchase at a price the buyer does not set.
When does a park need a maintenance and capital replacement plan?
Queensland residential parks needed an interim plan by 7 June 2026 and need an ordinary plan by 31 December 2027, revised at least every 2 years and given to home owners within 28 days of being prepared or revised. A park is exempt if it has 15 or fewer manufactured home sites, or if manufactured homes make up less than 30 per cent of total sites in a mixed-use park. For a mixed caravan park, count the home sites against total sites before settlement: under 30 per cent and the duty does not apply, at 30 per cent or more the buyer inherits it.
Before making an offer on a Queensland park, ask for the list of resident-owned homes currently for sale, every active buyback opt-in notice, the latest agreed or valued resale amount, each buyback deadline, the current MCRP and any homeowner submissions or planned capital items. A park with several vacant unsold homes can therefore carry a future purchase requirement at the same time as it needs capital expenditure on common facilities.
Sources: Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works, manufactured homes legislation changes, last updated 13 July 2026; Business Queensland, responsibilities during sales transactions of manufactured homes, last updated 6 May 2026. Business Queensland, maintenance and capital replacement plans in residential parks. All read 24 September 2026. Since 7 June 2026 a manufactured home sale must also use the approved sale agreement, Form 19, so each home's sale history is easier to trace.
How the resulting cash reserve sits against the loan depends on the asset class and location, which accommodation LVR by asset type and location sets out.
What should you read about permanent residents before making an offer?
Before pricing the park, reconcile every site agreement to the rent roll, home ownership register and approval or registration. Those documents tell you what income exists today, when it can next change, which structures you actually own, how many long-term sites are lawful and what it may cost to obtain vacant possession later.
If you need to make an offer before the full pack is available, have the solicitor make the contract protections match the missing due-diligence and finance items. A generic finance condition does not answer whether the rent roll is wrong, a resident owns an assumed park asset, or the approval shows fewer permanent sites than the memorandum.
| Document | What it tells you | Red flag for the lender |
|---|---|---|
| Every site agreement | Increase method, term, exit fees and any commission on home sales | Agreements missing, or inconsistent with the rent roll |
| Rent roll with last increase dates | Income today and the earliest date each site can rise again | A park-wide increase just before sale, which pushes the buyer's first increase back by up to a year |
| Arrears ledger | Rent owed by each resident at settlement | Arrears not assigned in the contract; for Queensland caravan and site tenancies they otherwise stay the vendor's debt |
| Length of residence per site | Which residents have lived in the park for 5 years or more | In South Australia those residents cannot be asked to leave without a reason, and their fixed terms reissue automatically |
| Home ownership register | Which homes residents own and which the park owns | Park-owned homes sold to residents on terms, or no register at all |
| Approval or registration | How many long-term sites the park may run | More long-term sites traded than approved |
| Tribunal matters and residents' committee letters | Disputes already running over fees, rules or repairs | An open site fee dispute; in New South Wales the Tribunal can make orders about future years' increases too |
| Queensland park comparison document, maintenance plan and buyback notices | Published site rents and increase bases, capital commitments, homes in the scheme | Homes already opted into the buyback scheme |
| Homes currently for sale or under contract | Which resident-owned homes may trigger a new site agreement, sale commission, disclosure process or buyback timeline | A Queensland home already near a buyback deadline, or an incoming buyer promised terms that do not match the published documents |
| Utility and embedded-network records | Who supplies electricity, gas and water, how sites are metered, what residents are charged, and which AER network or retail exemption the park relies on where applicable | Unmetered or unsupported charges, resident credits or complaints, or no clear handover of the exemption and billing records |
| Resident committee, levy and capital-work records | Consultation already underway, agreed upgrades, special levies, homeowner submissions and work the operator has committed to complete | An approved but unfinished project, disputed levy or capital obligation missing from the vendor's cash-flow forecast |
| Resident money and settlement adjustments | Arrears, credits, prepaid fees, bonds or deposits where relevant, and other amounts that need to be identified and treated correctly at settlement | No reconciliation between the rent roll, utility ledger, resident accounts and contract adjustments |
| Head lease, for a leasehold park | Whether the park's own tenure outlasts the site agreements | Site agreements running longer than the head lease |
The full list a lender asks for on any accommodation purchase is in the lender document pack for an accommodation purchase. Questions about what an agreement allows, and how notices must be served, belong with a solicitor.
What hidden costs and cash-flow obligations come with permanent residents?
The weekly site fee is not the same as free cash flow. Permanent residents can bring GST treatment choices, regulated utility resale, arrears and credits, resident-home sale processes, buyback or closure liabilities, capital-plan commitments and resident-funded upgrade records that all need to be separated from the vendor's headline rent roll.
This is where the buyer's accountant, solicitor and valuer need to work from the same site-by-site schedule. The question is not only what residents pay each week, but which receipts are taxable or concessionally taxed, which costs can lawfully be passed through, which money is already owed back or earmarked, and which future outflows sit behind the income.
| Item | What can sit behind the headline income | What to verify before relying on the cash flow |
|---|---|---|
| GST on long-term sites | ATO rules treat caravan parks and similar home parks as commercial residential premises. Long-term accommodation can qualify for the Division 87 concession or, where the operator makes the relevant choice, be input taxed, which also changes the input-tax-credit position. | Have the accountant map the park's actual long-term and short-stay revenue streams, current GST treatment and input-tax-credit apportionment. Do not apply the tourist-site GST treatment to every permanent-site receipt by assumption. |
| Electricity and other utilities | A park that on-sells electricity through an embedded network can be operating under AER network and retail exemption rules, while state law can separately control metering, billing and what residents may be charged. | Check the AER exemption position, meter register, retailer bills, resident tariffs, credits, complaints and life-support records where relevant. In New South Wales, utility charges generally need separate measurement and agreement in the site agreement. |
| Arrears, credits and prepaid amounts | The rent roll can show gross annual income while individual resident accounts carry arrears, overpayments, utility credits or prepaid site fees. | Reconcile every resident ledger to the contract settlement adjustments and identify which receivable or liability actually transfers to the buyer. |
| Resident-owned home sales | Sale commissions, disclosure steps, new site agreements and Queensland buyback timelines can turn a resident's private home sale into work, fee income or a future cash requirement for the operator. | List every home for sale, the selling authority, agreed commission basis, disclosure already issued, current buyer and any buyback or rent-reduction clock already running. |
| Capital plans and resident consultation | Queensland MCRPs can expose planned work on roads, lighting, pools, amenities and other common assets, and require consultation with home owners and any home owners committee. | Read the current plan, submissions, expected work and timing rather than treating historic maintenance expense as the forward capital budget. |
| Special levies and upgrade money | In New South Wales, an approved special levy can fund a community upgrade and the operator holds levy payments for that purpose. A sale can therefore occur while a resident-funded project and its records are still live. | Identify levies approved, money collected, money spent, work outstanding and any Tribunal dispute, then specify the handover and accounting treatment in the sale contract. |
| Closure, relocation and buyback reserve | These are contingent rather than weekly operating costs, but they can become the largest cash requirement in a redevelopment or exit case. | Model them separately from normal operating expenses and test the purchase price against the going-concern case and the buyer's intended exit. |
Sources: Australian Taxation Office, GSTR 2012/6 and GSTR 2012/7; Australian Energy Regulator, embedded network customers and network exemption classes; NSW Government, utilities and other charges and special levies for upgrades; Business Queensland, maintenance and capital replacement plans. All read 24 September 2026.
The finance model should therefore start with cash the park can actually keep, not gross weekly site fees.
What can derail finance after you make an offer on a park with permanent residents?
Finance can move backwards after the offer if the documents do not support the income, ownership or site count the buyer and selling agent assumed. A lender advances against the valuation and its own policy, not the contract price, so permanent-resident issues discovered after exchange can create a larger equity gap or extra approval conditions.
| Issue found after the offer | What the lender or valuer sees | What the buyer needs to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Rent roll is higher than the agreements support | Income that cannot be relied on at the stated amount or growth rate | Rebuild the forecast from the signed agreements and last increase dates |
| Resident-owned homes were treated as park assets | Less property or business security than the buyer expected | Prove ownership site by site and separate resident assets from park-owned cabins and chattels |
| More permanent sites trade than the approval allows | Income exposed to regulatory or council action | Confirm the lawful site count and whether a variation or new approval is realistic |
| Buyback, closure or dispute liability appears late | A cash requirement or exit cost not in the original model | Quantify it before unconditional finance and show how liquidity will be funded |
| Leasehold tenure is shorter than resident commitments | A mismatch between the park's own tenure and the income being valued | Reconcile the head lease, options and resident agreement terms before relying on future income |
What if the lender valuation comes in below the purchase price?
The shortfall becomes a buyer-equity problem unless the price, structure or finance changes. Permanent residents can contribute to that gap where the memorandum assumes rent growth the agreements do not permit, counts resident-owned homes as park assets, or assumes vacant possession that the law and agreements do not provide. The mechanics are set out in what a lender advances on a going concern valuation.
From our broking, indicative
The cleanest files identify these issues before the offer goes unconditional, then give the valuer the agreement schedule, lawful site count, ownership map and any exit liabilities in one pack. That does not guarantee approval, but it stops the credit case being built on income or security that disappears during valuation.
Indicative, from Switchboard's accommodation finance work as at September 2026. Lender policy, valuation and the final documents decide the actual outcome. Not financial advice.
What does it cost to close a caravan park or convert permanent sites?
Closing or redeveloping a park can turn protected occupancy into a material acquisition liability. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia each have different notice, tribunal and compensation rules. Waiting for sites to become lawfully vacant can avoid some resident-relocation liability, but planning, operating approval and physical conversion costs may still apply.
| Route | Notice to residents | Compensation | Approval or tribunal step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep and sell as a going concern | None for the sale itself | None arises from the sale itself | Registration or approval carries with the park, subject to state transfer rules |
| Convert permanent sites to tourist use as they fall vacant | None to remaining residents, as sites convert only once vacant | None where no resident is moved on | Check the site numbers the approval or registration allows |
| Close the park (Victoria) | Council told at least 14 days before notices; at least 6 months for caravan park residents and 365 days for Part 4A site tenants | Payable to residents who own a dwelling fixed to the land and site tenants who own a movable dwelling; VCAT weighs relocation costs or, if not relocated, the dwelling's purchase price, onsite value and rent paid; paid at least 30 days before the notice end date | Apply to VCAT within 30 days of issuing notices or the notices are void; no compensation where the owner does not own the land and the head lease is expiring |
| Close or change use (New South Wales) | Minimum periods set by the approved notice to terminate form | Removal, transport, reinstallation, repairs from the move, landscaping the new site and other reasonable costs; or loss of residency plus relocation costs where the home is not moved | Tribunal authorisation before a change of use notice; the operator must try to help residents find comparable accommodation |
| Change of use (South Australia) | 90 days for a periodic resident of under 5 years, otherwise at least 365 days unless both sides agree or SACAT orders otherwise | The operator must offer another site plus relocation costs, to buy the dwelling, or to pay to move it elsewhere | SACAT decides if the parties cannot agree; site agreements only |
| Change of use (Queensland manufactured home owners) | The park owner applies to QCAT to terminate a site agreement because the land is to be used for another purpose | QCAT orders compensation and may consider dismantling, transport, repositioning and other relevant costs; it may postpone termination for up to 1 year | QCAT termination order; local-government certification that the land can be used for the stated purpose |
| Voluntary closure (Queensland caravan and site tenancies) | At least 3 months on a notice to leave (Form 12), or 2 days for a short-term tenancy | The regulator's closure fact sheet sets notice only; confirm any payment with a solicitor | RTA dispute resolution, then QCAT |
| Sale with vacant possession or redevelopment (Western Australia) | At least 60 days for on-site home agreements and 180 days for site-only agreements | Compensation can apply, including for certain early terminations on sale; newer fixed-term site-only agreements generally cannot be ended early without the tenant's written agreement | Use the prescribed termination process and check the fixed-term date before treating the site as available |
| Convert to a land lease community | Depends on the state statute and the existing agreements | Depends on whether any resident is moved on | Planning and operating approval for the new use |
Sources: Consumer Affairs Victoria, closing a caravan park or residential park, last updated 28 March 2021, under s 215A "Compensation in relation to closure of caravan park or Part 4A park" and s 215B "VCAT may make park closure compensation order" of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, in force since 5 April 2019; NSW Government, ending a site agreement, last updated 22 September 2025; Government of South Australia, ending a residential park tenancy early; Residential Tenancies Authority, moveable dwelling park closure fact sheet. All read 24 September 2026. The rows for keeping, converting as sites fall vacant and converting to a land lease community describe the general position rather than a single statute.
A redevelopment case is also where the valuation basis shifts, which going concern versus vacant possession explains.
What happens in the first 12 months after you buy a park with permanent residents?
The first year starts with obligations whose clocks may already be running. Residents need new owner and payment details, the next lawful site-fee increase is measured from the vendor's last increase, pending home sales continue, and in Queensland any MCRP and buyback timetable follows the park rather than resetting at settlement.
| When | What happens | Rule behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement week | Residents learn who the new owner is, who to call for repairs and how to pay | Victoria: at least one fee-free payment method plus Centrepay or another electronic transfer. New South Wales: at least one cost-free way to pay. Queensland: at least 3 approved ways, 1 of them fee-free |
| First 14 days (Queensland) | Home owners get the new owner's details; caravan and site tenants get an attornment notice | Name, business address and where to pay rent within 14 days; department updated within 28 days on a Form 10 |
| First 20 business days, if an AER registered retail exemption applies | Confirm the embedded-network handover and notify the AER if the buyer will rely on the site's existing registered retail exemption | Current AER guidance says the registered exemption can continue after a change of site ownership, but the new owner relying on it must notify the AER within 20 business days; individual exemptions may need separate treatment |
| First month | Any change to park rules is consulted on | Victoria: at least 7 days' written notice, consultation, and 14 days for residents to respond in writing |
| First increase date | The earliest date site fees can rise again | Counted from the last increase, including the vendor's: once in any 12 months in Victoria and for NSW increases by notice, an annual limit in Queensland, 12 or 6 months apart in WA |
| Each home resale | A new homeowner arrives on the site | The resale rules by state: assignment in Victoria, the first-fee cap in New South Wales, a new agreement on prescribed bases in Queensland |
| Queensland, ongoing | The maintenance and capital replacement plan is kept current | Revised at least every 2 years and given to home owners within 28 days of each revision, unless the park is exempt |
| First annual lender review | The lender asks for an updated rent roll and trading figures | Loan terms, which usually set an annual review on a commercial facility (general) |
Sources: Consumer Affairs Victoria, rent rules and repairs; NSW Government, site fees; Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works, manufactured homes legislation changes; Consumer Protection WA, rent increases bulletin; Australian Energy Regulator, Retail Exempt Selling Guideline version 7, change of site ownership guidance. All read 24 September 2026.
A year of clean records under the new owner is also what the next lender reads, which is where refinancing an accommodation business picks up.
Can you add permanent sites to a caravan park you buy?
Yes, but only within what the park's approval or registration allows, and changing that is a regulatory step rather than a business decision. In New South Wales, clause 72(1)(b) of the Local Government (Manufactured Home Estates, Caravan Parks, Camping Grounds and Moveable Dwellings) Regulation 2021 requires an approval to operate a caravan park to specify the number, size and location of both its long-term and short-term sites. In Victoria, caravan parks are regulated under Part 14 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 and the Residential Tenancies (Caravan Parks and Movable Dwellings Registration and Standards) Regulations 2024.
Before counting on more long-term income, a buyer checks:
- The approval or registration. How many long-term sites it allows today, and whether the park already trades more.
- The path to change it. Whether more long-term sites need a new or varied approval from council.
- Queensland's plan threshold. Adding home sites to a mixed park can take manufactured homes past 30 per cent of total sites, which brings the maintenance and capital replacement plan duty with it.
- Minimum terms in Victoria. A park first registered with its council after 1 September 2011 must offer site agreements of at least 5 years.
- Funding the works. New sites mean civil and connection works, usually financed separately from the purchase.
Sources: NSW legislation, Local Government (Manufactured Home Estates, Caravan Parks, Camping Grounds and Moveable Dwellings) Regulation 2021, cl 72, in force version; Consumer Affairs Victoria, site agreements, last updated 7 July 2026. Both read 24 September 2026.
Funding new sites is covered in holiday park expansion and development finance.
Who lends on a caravan park with permanent residents?
Depending on the park and the borrower, finance may be available from major banks, non-bank lenders and private funders, but each reads permanent income, resident-owned structures and exit risk differently. The loan to value ratio is therefore driven by the valuation, ownership map, agreements, approval and lender policy rather than a single published permanent-site percentage.
| Lender type | What they usually need | Pricing and term | Where they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major banks | Full financials, a clean trading history, agreements and approvals documented before approval | Lowest pricing, standard terms, a conservative read of the site mix | Established parks with complete records |
| Non-bank lenders | More room on how income is documented, still valuation-led on the permanent income | Typically higher than a bank | Self-employed buyers or records that do not fit bank policy |
| Private funders | A clear exit | Short terms, pricing that reflects the higher-risk term | Speed, or a file other lenders will not take yet |
How the three lender types line up across the sector is in the holiday park and resort funding map, and larger parks are covered in how lenders read a large freehold holiday park. How non-bank lenders differ on documentation is set out in the non-bank lender policy matrix. To test a specific park against the panel, start with caravan park loans for buyers.
Is a caravan park with permanent residents the same as a land lease community?
No, although the two are often confused: a mixed caravan park runs tourist and long-term sites side by side, while a land lease community or residential park is built around residential sites where residents typically own their homes and rent the land. The difference changes the statute, the income and how a valuer and a lender read the asset.
| Feature | Mixed caravan park | Land lease community or residential park |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the homes | A mix: tourist cabins owned by the park, some long-term homes owned by residents | Mostly the residents, who rent the site beneath the home |
| Main statute | The state's caravan park registration or approval rules, plus residential rules for the long-term sites | The state's residential park statute, such as the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (NSW), the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 (Qld), the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006 (WA) or Part 4A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) |
| Income profile | Tourist income that moves with the season, plus long-term site fees | Mainly site fees under residential agreements |
| How a valuer reads it | A trading going concern, with the long-term sites read as protected income | A residential income asset driven by the site fee roll |
| How an exit works | Sell the business, convert sites as they fall vacant, or close under the state's notice rules | Sell the community; closure runs under the residential park statute's notice and compensation rules |
Sources: statute names as cited in the state sources above, read 24 September 2026. Rows describe the general position.
Whether resident-owned homes and park-owned cabins count as security is a separate test, set out in whether park cabins are chattels or fixtures. For buyers who want the land and the income without running the park, passive freehold investment covers the leased-out model, and the wider lending picture sits on the accommodation finance hub.
Permanent residents turn a caravan park purchase into an agreement-by-agreement acquisition. The agreements set lawful income growth, the ownership map decides what security you are actually buying, the approval fixes how many long-term sites may trade, and the state rules determine how difficult or expensive vacant possession can be.
Key takeaway: reconcile the agreements, rent-roll dates, home ownership, lawful site count and exit liabilities before the offer goes unconditional, because the valuer, lender and eventual buyer will all read the same documents.Frequently Asked Questions
Generally no, not because the park changed hands. A new owner can end an agreement only on the grounds and notice state law sets, such as serious breach, unpaid fees or closure. South Australia is the exception: before a sale, a periodic site agreement can be ended on notice for a resident of 5 years or less. A buyer who plans to clear sites is really pricing a closure, which is why the purchase steps for a caravan park start with the agreements.
Not freely. In New South Wales the incoming homeowner's first site fee cannot exceed the higher of what the outgoing homeowner paid or what similar sites pay. In Queensland each buyer signs a new site agreement, but increases stay within the prescribed bases and the annual cap. In Victoria the existing agreement is usually assigned to the buyer. Resale is not a reset to market rent, which is how a going concern with permanents is valued.
The park owner pays. In Victoria the owner must apply to VCAT to fix the amount soon after issuing notices to vacate, and the notices are void if it does not, unless the owner is a tenant whose head lease is ending. In New South Wales the operator pays relocation costs or compensation for lost residency. That liability is why a redevelopment buyer checks the vacant possession valuation basis before making an offer.
It is the approved Form 16 document a Queensland residential park owner must prepare and host on the park's website, setting out site rents, how often and on what basis rent rises, and the facilities, services and utilities included in site rent. For a park buyer it is a ready summary of the published income terms, to check against the agreements and the rent roll in the accommodation purchase document checklist.
It depends on the state. Queensland has voided market rent review clauses in residential park agreements, and Western Australia bars them in newer agreements while older WA agreements can still use one backed by a licensed valuer's report. In New South Wales a fixed method uses a single element such as CPI. A review based on a property valuation is therefore a question for older WA agreements, not a general tool.
The deposit is the gap between the purchase price and what the lender will advance on the valuation, plus acquisition costs. A permanent-heavy park can require more buyer equity where resident-owned dwellings, protected occupancy or constrained income growth reduce the valuation or the lender's advance. The site count alone does not set the deposit; the caravan park LVR breakdown by site mix explains what does.
In Queensland, yes: under the buyback scheme a park owner must buy an eligible unsold home once the home owner has been in the scheme for the set period. In South Australia the park owner gets first option when a deceased resident's estate sells. Elsewhere a park owner generally buys a home only by agreement, or in New South Wales when an agreement ends and the resident transfers it for compensation. A lender then reads a bought-back home against the LVR for each accommodation asset type.
A Part 4A site agreement is the agreement a Victorian park uses for a resident who owns their dwelling and rents the site beneath it. Newer agreements must use the standard form, and rent can rise only on the basis the agreement states. For a buyer of a leasehold park, those agreements also sit inside the park's own tenure, which freehold going concern versus leasehold explains.
Tasmania's Residential Parks Bill 2026 passed Parliament on 13 August 2026 and commences on a day to be proclaimed, so check the proclamation status before relying on it. It covers agreements where the site is the resident's principal place of residence for 90 days or more. That commencement matters at the next refinance, because refinancing an accommodation business means a new lender reading the park under the rules then in force.
It depends on what you are buying it for. An income buyer gets steady site fees on a capped growth path; a redevelopment buyer gets a closure bill and a long notice period before the land is free. This is general information, not a recommendation, and the answer turns on the price against the income the agreements allow, which is how a freehold going concern with permanents is priced.
Not automatically. A resident may own the manufactured home, cabin or caravan while renting only the site beneath it, so that structure may not form part of the lender's property security. Confirm ownership site by site against the agreements, sale records and asset register, then apply the cabin chattel or fixture test where the legal status of a structure is unclear.
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