Exemption from WA land tax for caravan and residential parks

Currently, an exemption from land tax is available for “dwelling park land” – that is, land that is or is part of a caravan or camping ground either operated pursuant to the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995 (WA) or by a local government, and is used solely for dwelling park purposes. Therefore, based on a strict interpretation of the legislation, this exemption does not presently apply to permanent holiday accommodation options in a caravan park (such as cabins and chalets) and residential parks and lifestyle villages containing non-vehicle relocatable homes popular with long-stay tenants (such as portable granny flats).

These amendments will replace the existing caravan park exemption, and are aimed at ensuring caravan park and lifestyle village operators do not pass on the cost of land tax to those living in residential parks, who are often elderly and/or on lower fixed incomes. A full exemption from land tax will be available for:

1. Parks providing short-stay / holiday accommodation only: if at least 75% of the park sites are caravan or camp sites (as defined in the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995 (WA));
2. Parks providing long-stay accommodation only: if at least 75% of the park sites are owner-occupied home sites governed by a site-only agreement (as defined in the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006 (WA)); and
3. Parks providing a combination of both short-stay and long-stay accommodation: if at least 75% of the short-stay sites are caravan or camp sites, and at least 75% of the long-stay sites are owner-occupied home sites

If the 75% threshold requirement is not met in either of the abovementioned circumstances, a proportional exemption from land tax will be available.

If passed, these amendments will have retrospective effect from 1 July 2020.