Documents you need before you buy
If you are buying a manufactured home and plan to live in a residential park, there are a number of documents you will need:
- relevant pre-contractual disclosure documents
- the proposed site agreement
- the sale agreement in the approved form
- a copy of the park rules and any proposals to change them.
Pre-contractual disclosure documents
The residential park owner or park manager will need to provide you with the following pre-contractual disclosure forms which contain details specific to their residential park:
- Form 16 - Residential Park Comparison Document (PDF 857KB) at least 21 days prior to the sale.
- Form 18 – Home Owners Information Document (PDF, 438KB) at least 21 days prior to signing.
- a copy of the proposed Form 2 – Site agreement (PDF, 283KB).
- Form 1C – Pre-contractual disclosure waiver (PDF, 135KB) if you plan to waive your pre-contractual disclosure down to a period of 7 days.
You have a 7-day cooling-off period from the time the last person signs the site agreement during which the site agreement may be terminated. If you were not given all pre-contractual disclosure documents within the required timeframes, the cooling-off period increases to 28 days.
It is important for you to have a clear understanding of what is on offer at the residential park you are interested in and whether the park will be right for you.
Make sure you look at the:
- residential park's details and the facilities they have to offer
- dispute resolution process between you and the park owner/manager
- any extra information they provide about their park.
Site agreements
A site agreement is an agreement between you and the residential park owner that allows you to rent specific land in a residential park for your manufactured home.
It also gives you shared use of the park's common areas and communal facilities.
Before signing a site agreement
It is very important that you seek independent legal and financial advice to check the site agreement, pre-contractual disclosures, and any sale agreement before you sign.
Both you and park owner must go through a 21-day pre-contractual disclosure process before a site agreement can be entered into. You can shorten this to 7 days if you have received independent legal advice from a properly qualified lawyer and signed a pre-contractual disclosure waiver.
You should also seek legal advice to make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities under the proposed site agreement and the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003.
Sale agreement form
When you agree to buy a manufactured home, the sale agreement must be in the approved Form 19 – Approved Form Sale Agreement (PDF, 329KB).
The approved sale agreement form:
- highlights key information to buyers
- improves standardisation
- helps sellers to meet the regulatory requirements for sales contracts.
It is not a complete contract and is designed to be used with additional terms added by the parties. The parties to the sale will need to include additional terms relevant to the sale at Part 5 of the form, or in an attached document (for example, a standard contract of sale applying to the sale of the manufactured home).
You are strongly encouraged to seek legal advice before entering an agreement for the sale of a manufactured home.
The sale agreement must not be completed (signed and executed) until the park owner gives you the required pre-contractual disclosure documents and you enter into a site agreement with them.