Displaced Residents Fight for Housing Rights

0:00It's April 12th. This is Sydney News Today, your AI-powered local news. Long-term residents at the acclaimed Rose Gardens, Beatside Holiday Park in Albany, got hit with eviction notices after the state government sold them. Site. The deal with RAC tourism assets required vacant possession, forcing out around two dozen folks who'd lived there for years. Many poor their savings into buying park homes, thinking it'd be there forever spot on Western Australia's South Coast. The park sat on Crownland and was state-owned until last year. Tenets got offered X-Gratia payments up to $25,000 each, and some could shift their homes to the nearby Panorama Caravan Park. But that site's not fully ready yet, leaving people in limbo with caravans or short-term stays. Take Ridge Hoyling and his partner Eva Johnson, they dropped $154,000 on their home plus 16,000 for furnishings. Now Ridge, battling stage 4 cancer, is homeless with just temporary digs while Eva's in residential

1:03care. Others like Pippa mentioned sold everything after learning it had cost up to $90,000 to make her home bushfire compliant at the new spot. Most had month to month leases under the WA residential parks. Long-state tenants act from 2006 so the new owners could demand they leave. The city of Albany stepped up with extra support beyond the rules, but consumer protection warns these setups carry risks since you own the home, but not the land. State officials are reviewing that outdated act now, aiming to modernize it for clearer rules that balance tenants and park operators. Meanwhile, displaced residents are scrambling on wait lists, pushing for stronger protections in these vulnerable housing spots.