Lease transfers and subletting
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This information is a guide and should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice.
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Summary
If you are renting a caravan and the site it sits on, you cannot legally transfer the right to live there (residency right) to another person on its own. There is no legal process that allows a residency right alone to be transferred.
However, if you own and live in your caravan and you want to sell it, you can transfer your caravan park residency right (your right to live in the caravan) to the caravan buyer. The buyer of the caravan who obtains the residency right must live in the caravan personally; they cannot sublet to someone else. You must use a specific form to complete the transfer, and you must get the consent of the park owner.
In most cases, the park owner cannot unreasonably refuse to give their consent to the transfer. However, if the caravan has a serious fault that needs to be fixed, they may only give their consent if you (or the buyer) agree to fix the fault within a reasonable time. The park owner cannot charge a fee in exchange for their consent.
If the park owner unreasonably refuses to give their consent, you can apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for an order that you can go ahead with the transfer without the park owner’s consent. If you believe the park owner is discriminating against you or the buyer, or has charged an incorrect fee, you can apply to VCAT for compensation.
If you want the park owner to sell your caravan for you, they must have told you how much commission they will charge on the sale at the time you moved in. The park owner cannot force you to sell the caravan through them or do anything to prevent the sale.
What does ‘caravan park resident’ mean?
If a caravan in a caravan park has been your main home for at least 60 days in a row or you have signed a residency agreement with the park or caravan owner, you are likely a resident and have legal rights that don’t apply to holidaymakers. Find out more on our page about caravan parks.
The information on this page is not for people who live in a caravan park in their own cabin or movable home that cannot be registered with VicRoads. These are called Part 4A dwellings and are covered by Part 4A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. If you live in this type of dwelling, you may have a site agreement with the park owner, rather than a residency agreement. The Consumer Affairs Victoria website has more about site agreements in residential parks and villages. If you are unsure what laws apply to you, seek advice. This page has information about getting help.
Steps to transfer your residency rights
If you own and live in your caravan and you want to sell it, you can transfer your caravan park residency rights to the buyer. To do so, the buyer must live in the caravan following the sale and you must follow the correct procedure and either get consent from the park owner or an order from VCAT.
If you want the park owner to sell your caravan for you, they must have told you how much commission they will charge on the sale at the time you moved in. However, the park owner cannot force you to sell your caravan through them, nor can they do anything that prevents or makes difficult the sale of your caravan. That is an offence under Victoria’s rental laws, which can be reported to Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Use the correct transfer form
To transfer your residency right, you need to use the correct form from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: Transfer of residency right – caravan [Word]
The form asks for your details, the site number of the caravan, the buyer’s signature agreeing to live there, and the names of any others who will live in the caravan. After it is filled in, the caravan park owner can either approve the transfer or refuse it with their reasons why.
Make sure the caravan is in good repair
If the caravan has a serious fault that needs to be fixed, the caravan owner may decide not to consent to the transfer of residency rights unless you (or the buyer) agree to fix the fault within a reasonable amount of time.
If the fault is a ‘serious defect’ this is considered a reasonable request. A ‘serious defect’ means that the interior or exterior of the caravan is not in a reasonable state of cleanliness or repair and poses a significant health or safety risk.
The park owner may offer to sell your caravan for you. If you agree to this (which you do not have to), the park owner may offer to organise the repairs before the sale. Rental laws do not clearly set rules about prices for these types of arrangements. You do not have to accept an offer from the park owner to arrange the repairs on your behalf just because you have agreed to them selling the caravan on your behalf.
If you do want to consider the park owner’s offer to carry out the repairs, always ask for a quote first. This is because the repair costs are usually taken straight out of the sale price. If you think the charges are too high or unfair, you can decide to arrange them yourself. If the repairs have already happened, you can apply to VCAT to resolve a dispute about the repair costs, even if the costs have already been deducted from the sale price of the caravan.
If you do agree to the park owner selling your caravan on your behalf, see the information on this page about fees and commission. See also the information on this page about what to do if the owner tries to force you to sell the caravan through them.
Obtain consent from the park owner
The park owner must respond to your transfer request within 7 days. They must either approve the transfer or provide reasons why they reject it.
In most cases, the park owner cannot unreasonably refuse to give their consent, unless there is a serious fault with the caravan that you (or the buyer) have not fixed or agreed to fix within a reasonable amount of time. The park owner also cannot charge a fee in exchange for their consent.
If the park owner does not respond to your request within 7 days, their silence is treated as consent. If the park owner does respond but unreasonably refuses to give their consent, you can apply to VCAT for an order that you can go ahead with the transfer anyway. For more information, see our page on applying to VCAT.
If you give a completed transfer form to the caravan park operator, and they do not respond by either approving or refusing within 7 days, their silence will be treated as consent.
Ensure you keep a record of when the form was given to the caravan park owner, in case you need to prove this at VCAT if the park owner disputes your version of events and tries to block the transfer.
If the park owner completes the form and states that they refuse to consent to the transfer, they must provide reasons. If you believe these are unreasonable, you can apply to VCAT for a decision on the transfer. Examples could be insisting on minor repairs before providing consent or because they do not like the buyer.
See the information on this page about how to apply for VCAT if consent is not given.
For the park owner’s consent to be legally valid, it must be in writing on the official ‘transfer of residency right’ form, or you can prove you gave the park owner a completed transfer form and they failed to respond within 7 days.
We recommend that you do not leave or allow the new resident to move in until the transfer is formally approved in writing by the park owner, or 7 days have passed since you gave the park owner the transfer form.
If you believe the park owner is not consenting because of discrimination against you or the new resident, you can also ask VCAT for compensation. To do so, see our page on claiming compensation.
List of discrimination ‘attributes’
The law says the park owner must not discriminate against you on the basis of any attribute (personal characteristic) in this list when deciding whether to consent to a transfer of the residency right. It does not matter whether the park owner intended to discriminate, and it does not even have to be the main factor in their decision.
- Age
- Disability (including physical, sensory, intellectual disability and mental illness)
- Employment activity
- Expunged (cleared) homosexual conviction
- Gender identity
- Industrial activity (including union activity)
- Marital status
- Parental status or status as a carer
- Physical features
- Political belief or activity
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Profession, trade or occupation
- Race
- Religious belief or activity
- Lawful sexual activity or sexual orientation
- Sex or intersex status
- Profession, trade or occupation
- Association with someone who has these personal attributes
For more information about discrimination, see our pages on starting your tenancy and discrimination.
The landlord the park owner cannot force you to sell your caravan through them in order to gain a commission. The park owner also cannot do anything that prevents or makes difficult the sale of your caravan. If they do either of these things, this is an offence under Victoria’s rental laws.
You can report an offence to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue an infringement notice to the caravan owner and make them pay a fine. Consumer Affairs Victoria has an online Make a complaint form, or you can call them on 1300 55 81 81.
Note: Asking you to fix a serious defect on the caravan is not considered doing something to prevent the sale. It is seen as a reasonable request in exchange for consent to the transfer.
If you agree to the park owner selling the caravan on your behalf, see the information on this page about fees and commission and carrying out repairs.
The park owner cannot charge a fee for a residency transfer or make you pay for their consent.
The park owner must let you know about the ‘scale of commission’ that applies if they sell your caravan on your behalf. This must happen before or at the time you occupy the site. A ‘scale of commission’ is a table that outlines how much commission can be charged by the park owner if the sale goes through. The amount of commission will depend on the sale price. There are no limits on the amount of commission, but the scale must be clear enough for you to work out the commission from the sale price.
The park owner can only charge you commission if you have agreed to let the park operator sell the caravan for you. You are not required to use the park operator to sell your caravan, and they cannot force you to do so. If they do, or try to, this is an offence under rental laws. See the information on this page about what to do if the caravan park owner tries to force you to sell through them.
If you believe you have been charged a fee for a transfer or for the park owner’s consent, or you have been charged commission that was not disclosed to you at the beginning of your residency, you can apply to VCAT for compensation. You can do so even if the fee has already been paid or the commission has already been deducted from the sale. See our pages on going to VCAT and claiming compensation.
Apply to VCAT if consent is not given
If you believe the park owner is being unreasonable in not consenting to the transfer of residency rights, you can apply to VCAT for an order for the transfer to go ahead. However, you should only do this if you know that the proposed buyer of the caravan is able to wait until the hearing happens. VCAT may take 2 or more weeks to schedule the hearing.
If the buyer can afford the purchase and hiring charges, and the caravan is in good repair, VCAT is more likely to approve the transfer.
You can also apply to VCAT for compensation if you believe that the landlord is not consenting due to discrimination against you or the proposed purchaser because of your race, religion, sexual orientation or other attribute (personal characteristic) that is protected by the law. See our page on claiming compensation.
When VCAT decides whether it will grant you permission to transfer your residency rights, there are no set legal criteria.
VCAT may consider the following:
- Whether the caravan park owner owns the land or is leasing the land where the caravan park is situated
- If the caravan park owner is leasing the land from an owner, relevant factors could be the date the residency agreement ends, any ‘notice to vacate’ given by the owner to the park operator, or upcoming plans to close the park
- Any other laws, by-laws or other regulations that affect the site
- Whether the buyer is likely to comply with rental laws and park rules, including their ability to pay the rent
- The cleanliness of the caravan
- The condition of the caravan
- The safety and connection of any utilities
- The condition of any slab or site footing
- Any outstanding serious repairs, and whether the seller or buyer of the caravan has the capacity and willingness to fix these shortly after the sale
A caravan park operator cannot refuse to transfer a residency simply because they ‘don’t like the purchaser’. This would be considered unreasonable. Minor repairs that are not a ‘serious defect’ is also not a valid reason to refuse consent to the transfer.
To apply, fill out VCAT’s general application form.
Complete the form online or download a PDF and fill it in electronically or print it and complete it by hand. If you want a hard copy form posted to you, call VCAT on 1300 018 228.
When you get to the section ‘What orders do you want VCAT to make?’, write section 196.
VCAT will let you know the time, date and place of the hearing.
At VCAT, the people who hear and decide cases are called members. A VCAT member listens to each side, reviews any evidence and resolves the dispute based on the law, either at the end of the hearing or in writing later.
It is best that you go to the hearing to tell your side of the story. If you don’t go, you run the risk of the VCAT member not understanding your version of events. While you may feel stressed about the hearing, VCAT is less formal than a court and you can get help from Tenants Victoria and other organisations. If you need assistance, this page has information on how to get help.
If VCAT does not agree to the transfer, then you cannot legally go ahead with the transfer.
Here’s what you can do next
- View our step-by-step video on going to VCAT
- Look at the information on the VCAT website about how to prepare for the hearing, including how to prepare evidence and what happens on hearing day
Particular circumstances
If you are the person who is buying the caravan and receiving residency rights, there are certain things you should know.
If you are buying a caravan to live in
If you are planning to buy a caravan to live in, make sure the residency being offered is a permanent residency that allows you to stay all year round. This is different from an annual arrangement, which is only for holiday use and limits how many days you can occupy the caravan.
Because your residency is being transferred rather than starting fresh, the park owner may not be required to provide you with a condition report or make disclosures about the condition of the caravan. You should ask for these documents yourself and check them carefully, and ask any questions, before agreeing to buy.
You should be aware that you will be held responsible for the site. This means you must return it to the same condition it was in at the start of the initial residency, when the first resident moved in. This includes removing any structures or extensions that have been added to the site since then.
There is no cooling-off period when buying a caravan, unless the agreement provides one. The purchase agreement between residents is not regulated by Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act. VCAT will generally not deal with disputes about it, unless the caravan is sold by the park operator or a business.
If you are receiving the transfer of a fixed-term residency, note that Victoria’ rental laws allow caravan park operators to issue a notice to vacate because the fixed term is about to end. For this reason, we recommend you buy a caravan that is already on a periodic (month-by-month) agreement or one with enough time left on the fixed term. Also keep in mind that if you want to buy a caravan, unless the residency is formally transferred to you as part of the sale, you will rely on the caravan park offering you a new residency agreement, which they are not legally required to do. If you do not receive a new agreement, you may have to remove your caravan and restore the site to its original condition (except for fair wear and tear). If you do not remove the caravan, the caravan park may treat it as ‘goods left behind’. For more information, see our page on goods left behind.
Get help and other resources
If you need support to transfer your residency rights, help is available.
Tenants Victoria services
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Renter Support Line
For all Victorian renters.
Other organisations
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Victoria Legal Aid
For all Victorians.
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Federation of Community Legal Centres
For all Victorians.
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Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP)
For Victorian renters in private rentals, rooming houses and caravan parks who are in financial hardship or affected by family violence.
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Community Connection Program
For Victorians who are homeless or live in low-cost accommodation.
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Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG)
For Victorians aged 50 and older.
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Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
For all Victorians.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria
For all Victorians.
There are resources to assist you with understanding more about transferring your residency rights.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria website
The Consumer Affairs Victoria website has useful information on transferring your residency rights to your caravan.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is Victoria’s main law for renting. It describes the rights and duties of renters and landlords in numbered sections.
The sections in this list relate to transferring your caravan residency rights. Click on a link to see more about the section.
- Section 183 – Statement of scale of certain charges, fees and commissions
- Section 195 – Transfer of residency agreement
- Section 196 – Caravan park owner unreasonably withholds consent
- Section 197 – Owner must not charge fee for transfer of resident’s rights
- Section 198 – Sale of caravan
- Section 206AH – Tribunal orders
The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 and the Residential Tenancies (Caravan Parks and Movable Dwellings Registration and Standards) Regulations 2024 provide more detail and definitions, and specify updates to the Residential Tenancies Act.
