The Park and Village Service (PAVS) provides training, resources, advocacy and information on the rights and responsibilities of residential park and manufactured home estate residents.

PAVS is a member of the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service Network, funded by the NSW Office of Fair Trading.

PAVS receives and addresses inquiries on all aspects of residential park tenancies. All of its services are provided free and include:

• casework support (including advocacy)
• training and resources for Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services and other organisations throughout New South Wales
• advice on legislation (the PAVS team provides paralegal services but does not include a lawyer)
• input to policy that affects residential parks

Policy issues

Input into policies affecting residential parks is an area of significant concern to the PAVS team. This input is achieved in a variety of ways, including the publication of position papers and submissions to government legislative reviews.

Over the past year the major issue for both residents and generalist TAAP services has been the closure of residential parks along with the replacement of permanent residential park sites with tourist sites. This means that large numbers of park residents are in danger of becoming homeless and/or losing their movable dwellings which may be their only asset.

Other areas of concern over the past year have included the review of local government regulation and access to parks for emergency vehicles.

PAVS is also a member of many policy committees, including:

• Residential Parks Operation Committee (the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal)
• Parks Consultative Committee (Office of Fair Trading)
• Utility Consumers' Advocacy Reference Group
• Tenancy Legal Working Party

Click here for the latest PAVS report, No Place for Home which outlines the issues and problems arising from park closures in New South Wales.