In simpler terms, you buy your home and lease the land.  When you move into an Edenlife community, your purchase agreement (Residential Site Agreement or RSA) grants you the right to occupy your ‘site’ and use all facilities within the Edenlife community for a weekly fee.  Entering into an agreement of this type allows us to offer more affordable purchase prices for your home as you are not paying outright for the land.  Edenlife covers taxes, settlement fees and any ongoing costs of land ownership.

Your RSA is governed under the Residential Parks (Long-Stay Tenants) Act 2006 and the Amendment Act 2020.  The Acts govern site agreements, such as that between Edenlife and the residents who purchase a ‘movable dwelling’ and rents the land on which the dwelling will sit.  Homes in Edenlife Communities are all movable dwellings as they can be moved to a different location. 

The first leases are for a term of 60 years.  Each subsequent change of ownership will include the balance of that lease.  For example, if you sell your home after 10 years of occupying the site, the new owners will take over your lease with 50 years remaining.  Your obligations and lease conclude once your home is sold.

Under the land lease model, you pay a site fee (fortnightly direct debit) to Edenlife.  Because you don’t own the land, you aren’t responsible for paying any of the costs associated with land ownership ie. council rates, water rates or stamp duty.  The site fee is reviewed on 1 July each year with any increase capped at 3.5%.

As you pay a site fee, and if you are a pensioner, you are more than likely entitled to Commonwealth rent assistance.  We can provide you with a letter for Centrelink to make the process as smooth as possible.  If you would like more information on rent assistance, please visit the Services Australia website.

Land lease = NO stamp duty, council rates, water rates, conveyancing fees (when selling your home.  Eligibility for Centrelink rent assistance (subject to their eligibility criteria).

Freehold = YOU PAY stamp duty on the purchase, council rates, water rates and conveyancing fees.  Centrelink rent assistance is not available if you own the land.

The Residential Site Agreement (RSA) secures your lease on site on which your home is located for a period of up to 60 years, as specified in your site agreement. This agreement remains protected and in force even if the ownership of the community changes.

The home can either be sold (with all the profits going to your estate) or a family member may wish to enter into a new site agreement and move in.  In the case of a family member wanting to move in, the standard procedures would still be followed and they would need to undergo a community manager’s interview and be approved by the community manager. 

Many land lease communities charge a deferred management fee (DMF) when you sell and it can be as high as 30% of the sale price of your home.  Edenlife Communities charges NO deferred management fee, and any capital gain you make when you sell your home is 100% yours to keep.

They do not operate under the Retirement Villages Act.  They have different ingoing, outgoing and ongoing costs and various types of agreements.  A retirement village can charge a deferred management fee in the vicinity of 30-40% of the sale price, along with the added burden of making you refurbish the home at your own cost when you sell. 

In comparison, an Edenlife lifestyle community offers a very affordable option to people looking to downsize as there is no deferred management fee, no requirement to refurbish prior to selling and only one standard agreement that is the same for everyone.