Bulletin 4 July 2023 – After C-RIS, AGM 2023 Reminder, Catalyst Survey

Monday 3 July 2023

Dear Members

Our Campaign   –   The Fight Goes On

Now that the opportunity to have our say in response to the Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (C-RIS) with its proposals for changes to the Act to address home owners’ concerns about site rent increases and sale of homes has closed, QMHOA is moving onto the next stage in our campaign to ensure that the legislation does more to protect our interests than it does currently.

Last week QMHOA Committee Member Noel Wright and President Roger Marshall met with the Minister for Housing’s Senior Policy Advisor to explain to him and advocate for the improvements we want to see to the proposals in the C-RIS.  He gave us a good hearing and promised to ensure that the Minister was fully aware of our views. He also promised that he would do all he can to ensure that the Minister will meet with us once she has had a chance to be fully briefed on the feedback to the C-RIS.

Also last week, we wrote to the Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Housing and the 7 members of parliament who have more than 1,000 residential parks homes in their electorates, asking each of them to meet with representatives of QMHOA.

In relation to the major issue of site rent increases, the key message that we tried to give to the Minister’s Advisor and will be hoping to convey to the MPs we meet, is that we believe that although the proposals put forward will go some way to making things better for home owners, as they stand at the moment, they will only be partially successful in achieving the outcomes for which we have advocated. We want to see more done to ensure that our objectives will be achieved when amendments are finally put to parliament.

In support of this key message, we will seek to convey the following:

• We welcome and strongly support the proposal to prohibit the use of market rent reviews to increase site rents.  Any sign of failure to include this in the legislation that is finally introduced will be vigorously opposed by QMHOA and, we trust, our members.
• We also welcome and support the idea of a cap on site rent increases.
• We do not, however, support the proposal made in the C-RIS that the cap be set at the higher of CPI or a fixed percentage of somewhere between 3% and 5% (with 3.5% cited as an example).  We believe this would result in home owners frequently being forced to pay rent increases which are greater than increases in pensions and/or are higher than can be justified by increases in the costs to park owners of operating a park.
• We support the idea of mandating an index to measure inflation which can be used in calculating site rent increases, but we do not support the idea of it being a version of CPI. We believe that CPI is a measure of the increases in the costs of running a household. Only a fraction of the items taken into account in calculating CPI apply to the cost of operating a residential park. Using CPI, as at present, fails to meet our expectations nor meet the policy objectives outlined in the C-RIS of parks which, inter alia, are fair and transparent and which are sustainable for home owners.
• We would like to see the creation a Residential Park Cost Index (RPCI) which would be a reasonable estimate of increases in operating costs and therefore a reasonable basis for increasing site rents.

QMHOA calls upon as many of our members as possible to seize every opportunity to support us in making sure that their local MP, who will be one of those who make the final decisions on what the changes to the Act look like, hears and understands both our key message on site rent increases and the steps we would like to see taken to improve on the proposals made in the C-RIS.

Retirement Living Survey

QMHOA has agreed to work with Catalyst Research to collect the views of our members on shopping for and living in a retirement or land lease community. The survey will help providers become more consumer focused.  ARPQ asked our members to participate in a similar survey last year and were provided with some feedback and information from Catalyst which has helped us in advocating for the interests of members.

Please share your thoughts via the 12-minute survey by clicking this link. Most questions are optional.

There are five iPads up for grabs as a thank you for participating. We will share results from the survey in future communications with members.

AGM Reminder

As was foreshadowed in the Bulletin sent out on 23rd May, the first Annual General Meeting of QMHOA since the merger of ARPQ and MHOA in January will be held at Caboolture Learning Hub, 4 Hasking St., Caboolture at 9.30 for 10am on Tuesday 22^nd August 2023. Members can expect to receive a formal notice of the meeting and a call for nominations for executive and committee positions in mid-July.

To contact us about our Submission email president@qmhoa.org.au or click on the pink button below.

Roger Marshall M.Ed. PH.D. | President
Queensland Manufactured Home Owners Association Inc.
Interim Management Committee

QMHOA

Keeping Manufactured Home Owners in Queensland Residential Parks informed and represented.