The resident is required to:
[See Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA) ss 12, 15, 25, 32, 36-39 and 89].
Failure to comply with some of these responsibilities can attract fines, see the Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA) for more information. Particularly, it is an offence for a resident to intentionally cause serious damage to the rented property or common property and a fine of up to $2,500 can be imposed [see Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA) s 36(2)].
NOTE: The above details are not a complete list of the resident’s rights and obligations under the Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA).
Alterations to the rented property
The resident can not alter the rented property without seeking written permission of the park owner. This applies to both residential park tenancies and the exterior of dwellings installed under residential park site agreements [see Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA) ss 37 and 38].
Vicarious liability
The resident is vicariously liable for the behaviour of a person who is on the rented property through their invitation or with their consent. This means that the behaviour of visitors is treated as being the behaviour of the resident and can result in a breach of the agreement [see Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA) s 44].
Serious Acts of Violence
If a resident or one of their visitors is reasonably suspected of committing a serious act of violence or the safety of any person in the park is in danger then the park owner may give them notice (using Form B) to leave immediately. If there is not reasonable grounds, then the park owner can be fined.
The exclusion period is for 2 business days or if the park owner makes an urgent application to terminate the residential park agreement, for 4 days or until the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal SACAT determines the application [see Residential Parks Act 2007 (SA) ss 95 and 96].
The residents of a residential park may elect residents from at least 5 different occupied sites in a residential park to form a residents' committee to represent the interests they have in common as residents of the park. Only a resident may be a member of the committee, and each resident has a right to nominate for election and participate in the election. Any resident who is employed or engaged by the park owner to assist in the management of the residential park may not be a member of the committee. Only one residents' committee may be formed in a residential park [s 7(2)].
A park owner (of a residential park with more than 20 fixed term site agreements in place) must ensure that the park has a resident's committee [s 7(1b)]. A park owner must not unreasonably interfere with a resident’s rights to participate in a residents' committee [s 7(1a)], and must, insofar as is reasonable, allow the use of a room within the residential park for the purposes of a meeting called by a residents' committee [s 7(5)].
If there is more than one committee purporting to exist for a particular residential park, the park owner may apply to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order as to which committee (if any) is the resident’s committee [s 7(3)]. If the resident’s committee makes representations to a park owner, the park owner must consider them and respond in writing as soon as practicable and in any case within one month or longer period as allowed by the committee [ s 7(6)]. A response to any member of the committee is sufficient [s 7(7)].