Living In A Village - Information Sheet L7
Maintenance Responsibilities
In a land-lease village, there are many areas requiring maintenance, but they are generally the responsibility of the home owners or the village owner.
- In respect to maintenance of your home, all maintenance is your responsibility, as you own that home.
- In respect to communal area sites and facilities, the maintenance responsibility will generally fall onto the village owner.
In the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 Part 4A, the maintenance responsibilities for each party are clearly laid out.
For home owners:
- A site tenant must keep their dwelling in a condition such that, considering fair wear and tear, it is in good repair, is safe to occupy and does not pose a significant health risk (clause 206ZMA)
For village owners:
- A village owner must maintain in clean and safe conditions, all common areas, facilities, gardens, roadways, paths, and recreation areas (clause 206ZV) and must be repaired as soon as practicable.
- The village owner must also maintain in good repair, any structures or fixtures on the site occupied by a home owner (clause 206ZVA), which could include trees, fences, gates, retaining walls and drainage facilities.
- The site tenant must notify the park operator in writing if they notice communal park facilities are damaged or are not working. The Notice to Part 4A site owner form should be used – available from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.
- The site owner must provide up-to-date contact details in case urgent repairs are needed.
- Site tenants can now apply to VCAT (Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal) for urgent and non-urgent repairs.
It is recommended that you check your site agreement, so you are aware of any potential variations to these requirements and be aware of exactly what each party is responsible for.
