Living In A Village - Information Sheet L5

Utilities and Other Charges

In a land-lease village, the village owner must pay the installation and initial connection costs to a site for electricity, gas, bottled gas, or water.

• In respect to water supply to individual homes, there are many different arrangements. Some villages have individual water meters, but estimated water usage is already included in their rent. Some have individual meters, but only pay for usage and not a supply charge.
• In respect to electricity, some villages are set up on embedded networks, where bulk supply is purchased by the village owner and then on-sold to each home within that village, while others buy their electricity directly from their chosen supplier.
• Gas can be supplied individually to each home, whether by bottled gas or mains supply.

There is, however, a limit on how much the village owner can charge the home owners. This is known as the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) and the VDO price is set each year by the Essential Services Commission. The VDO can vary, as costs and distributors differ throughout the state. The name of the distributor must be printed on the utility bill, or it can be found by logging on to either of the following websites:

www.energy.vic.gov.au/electricity/electricity-distributors.

www.esc.vic.gov.au/electricity-and-gas/prices-tariffs-and-benchmarks/victorian-default-offer.

The property owner must not charge more than the VDO for the area. They can charge less.
The property owner must give the home owner a bill at least once every 3 months. The bill must show how much of the utility was used, the date the usage was checked, how the usage was calculated and how much must be paid. At least 13 days must be allowed for the bill to be paid and there must be at least 2 ways for it to be paid e.g., by post or by phone. If there is to be a change in the utility charge, the home owner must be told before the increase is shown on the bill. The bill may be based on an estimation if the village owner is unable to check the exact usage. The bill must clearly state if this is an ‘estimated bill’.

For any unresolved disputes relating to utility bills, contact the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) on 1800 500 509 or email ewov.com.au. Information is also available on the website www.ewov.com.au.

Other Charges
There may be other charges to be paid in a land-lease village, such as caravan/boat storage, but all charges must be shown on the site agreement.

MHOA recommends that prospective buyers are familiar with all applicable charges before signing a site agreement.

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