RESIDENTIAL PARK
Lease
The lease of a permanently occupied residential site or a moveable dwelling within a site is governed by the Residential Parks Act, 1998. The provisions of this legislation prevail over the terms of any lease which may be inconsistent with this Act.
There is a standard form of agreement which must be used and this agreement contains most of the terms of the Act. The costs of the preparation of the lease must be disclosed to the tenant before any lease is entered into and those costs must be borne equally between the landlord and the tenant.
The spirit of the legislation generally protects the tenant. A residential park lease may not be terminated for non-payment of rent until 28 days after the default. The Act provides that not less than 14 days notice of intention to terminate must be given and that notice can only be given when the rent is 14 days or more in arrears.
The Residential Parks Act, 1998 is interesting legislation because it deals with an arrangement where the land is owned by the landlord yet the improvements on the land are owned by the tenant whereas in most leases the landlord owns the land and the improvements.