All current home owners in any land lease community have the right under the law to sell their home onsite. If you move out but still own a home, you keep this right of sale. If you pass away, your executor, administrator or a beneficiary of your estate can exercise this right.
When selling your home, you must:
- inform the operator before you advertise or offer your home for sale, and
- refer any genuine prospective buyers to the operator before selling your home so the operator can meet their disclosure obligations under the law.
Use of a 'For Sale' sign
Once you have told the operator that you intend to sell your home, you can place a 'For Sale' sign in or on your home. The sign can only be in your window or attached to the outside of your home, not on the residential site itself. You must have the operator’s permission to place the sign anywhere else in the community.
Appointing an agent
You can appoint anyone you wish to sell your home. The choice is yours - the operator cannot require you to appoint any person, including themselves, as your agent.
Selling agency agreement
If you appoint an agent, including the operator, to sell your home you’ll need to sign a selling agency agreement. The agreement must be in writing and ideally put in place before the home is marketed. Read this agreement carefully before signing it. It sets out the services that your agent will perform and any charges, expenses and commission which may be payable in exchange for those services.
FAQ
What other documents will I need?
To sell your home to another person you will also need to have some form of written contract of sale or a bill of sale/transfer. This will include things like the agreed price and how and when it is to be paid. If you appoint an agent they may have a document you can use for this purpose.
How much commission can an agent charge?
The law does not regulate the level of commission an agent can charge you for selling your home. The level of commission is negotiable. It must be set out in the selling agency agreement you sign. If the operator is your selling agent the level of commission should be within the range of commission charged by local real estate agents for selling a regular home.
No sale commission is payable if:
- your home is not sold, or
- the sale is not due to the services provided by your selling agent, or
- if the operator, or a close associate of the operator, buys the home.
What obligations does the operator have when I am selling my home onsite?
An operator must not interfere with your right to sell your home onsite or to display a 'For Sale' sign.
Examples of an operator interfering include:
- unreasonably restricting prospective buyers from having access to inspect your home or the community
- unreasonably hindering your agent from having access to the community
- making false or misleading statements about the community to the prospective buyer
- taking any action to require you to comply with any requirement under the Local Government Act 1993 after becoming aware that you intend to sell your home
- unreasonably delaying or refusing to enter into a site agreement with the person who intends to buy your home
- insisting that the buyer agree to a voluntary sharing arrangement
- attempting to charge the buyer a higher site fee than you are currently paying, or a higher amount than the site fees currently payable for sites of a similar size and location within the community.
Can can apply to the Tribunal for compensation if you lose a potential buyer or suffer a financial loss due to the operator interfering with the sale.
Can I sell my home to the operator?
Yes, the owner or operator of the community can offer to buy your home at an agreed price.
Can I assign my site agreement as part of the sale?
In most cases the buyer and the operator will choose to enter into a new site agreement. If the operator agrees, you can transfer your site agreement.
What can I do if there is a dispute?
Contact NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20 to see if the dispute can be resolved through mediation. You can also <apply to the Tribunal> about any dispute relating to the sale of your home.