Gilmore v Lawson

The case of Gilmore v Lawson involves a dispute between park owners and a manufactured home owner over the imposition of additional charges for overnight visitors and extra parking. The dispute was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The park owners sought to charge the home owner additional amounts for overnight visitors and extra parking, which the home owner challenged as changes to the park rules that were not properly implemented. The site agreement between the parties charged a weekly amount for additional persons but did not specify the amount per night or for extra parking. The park rules referred to a nightly visitor fee and extra parking fee but did not specify the amounts.

The legal issues before the court were whether the charges imposed by the park owners constituted changes to the park rules, and if so, whether the park owners had complied with the statutory process for changing the rules. The court also had to determine the validity of a counter-application filed by the park owners, which was not in the correct form and lacked any basis or supporting material. The court held that the charges imposed by the park owners were changes to the park rules, as the site agreement and park rules did not specify the amounts. Furthermore, the court found that the park owners had not complied with the statutory process for changing the park rules.

The court declared that any amount charged per night for visitors and any amount charged for extra parking were void and of no effect, as they did not comply with the relevant sections of the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003. The court also dismissed the counter-application filed by the park owners, as it was not in the correct form and lacked any basis or supporting material. The court's decision provides clarity on the obligations of park owners to properly implement any changes to park rules and the consequences of failing to do so.