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Gus Philpot thought he had landed a good deal on a home in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and the housing crunch on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. What he did not know was that five years later, his dwelling would be "worth nothing", after the local council introduced rules preventing permanent residents at Caloundra's Dicky Beach Family Holiday Park from on-selling. The decision has left more than 100 residents at the park facing an uncertain future. "I put everything I had into this place and to be told that now I can't even sell it or even hand it on to my children … if I decide to venture on and do something else [I can't]," Mr Philpot said. "I've invested all [my] money." The 59-year-old is recovering from surgery and worries he could become a financial burden on his children. "Now I can't even contribute to them, to help them along and to pretty much look after me," he said. 'Poor decision-making' from past councils Sunshine Coast Council said the move brought Dicky Beach in line with the rest of the region's publicly owned holiday parks. Permission to on-sell at other parks was removed two decades ago. But some within the council fear it will only deepen the region's housing crisis. Mayor Rosanna Natoli and Caloundra division councillor Terry Landsberg were among those who argued against the changes at a council meeting on October 16. Council officers said the move was required to bring the park in line with the Land Act of 1994. The motion was passed six votes to four. Councillor Taylor Bunnag supported the changes and said Dicky Beach's historical exemption should never have happened. "We've also got 39 permanent dwellings in all our other holiday parks across the Sunshine Coast and [they] … have been restricted from on-selling their caravans in those locations," Cr Bunnag said. "[It's the result of] very poor decision-making by previous councils." However, Cr Landsberg said the park provided much-needed affordable housing. "These people are not just retirees — they are key critical workers of our economy, they're carers [and] grandparents looking after their [grand] kids so that their parents can continue to work full time," he said. Investments 'now worthless' Pensioner Howard Hill, 80, purchased a non-fixed home in the park 30 years ago after a cancer diagnosis limited his ability to work. "[Council] are not kicking people out, but it's the idea that you won't be able to resell if you were to move … you will have no way to recoup the costs of buying the house." Cr Landsberg said the council had approved changes to dwellings for decades. "[Past guidelines allowed for] the ability for park residents to gain building approvals certification, which was all ticked off by the council," Cr Landsberg said. QUT property law professor Sharon Christensen said the tenancy agreements for the land underneath the non-fixed homes would have set the rules for modification. "[That agreement] will regulate, consistent with the Residential Tenancies Act, how long you can stay, what you can do on the site, whether you can attach fixtures," Professor Christensen said. She said that despite permanent residency being listed as an inconsistent use of land set aside for camping, historical arrangements in place before those laws were introduced could continue to exist. Adding to housing pressures Residents of the park must relocate or demolish their homes when they decide to leave and will not receive compensation from the council, despite some dwellings being sold for upwards of $150,000 in recent years. Mr Philpot said the council's actions did not match their rhetoric about addressing the housing crisis. "It's just ludicrous." Cr Bunnag rejected the claim and said the council had been working on building new homes. "We've delivered 22 affordable dwellings in partnership with the state government in Marcoola, but there's more to do — I absolutely recognise that," he said.
