For about 14 years, Roslyn Grima has lived in her own little home in a seaside caravan park in northern Tasmania.<\/p>\n
“It was an amazing place, I’d come to visit a friend and the next week I thought, ‘Oh, I’m buying one of these places,'” the 65-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“Now it’s my home and it’s beautiful and I absolutely love it here.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Beauty Point Tourist Park sits on a picturesque piece of land in northern Tasmania. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)<\/p>\n
It was once a caravan, like most homes at the Beauty Point Tourist Park.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Ms Grima has completed extensive renovations and added multiple rooms to the caravan, estimating its worth now at more than $100,000.<\/p>\n
But Ms Grima’s life took an unexpected twist when earlier this year she discovered she had stage-four liver and pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n
She now wants to sell her caravan park home to fund her medical expenses, but the park says that is not an option.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Roslyn Grima has added multiple rooms to the caravan over the years. (ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)<\/p>\n
Local council says park must ‘move back into compliance’<\/p>\n
The caravan park told Ms Grima she cannot sell her place because of an enforcement notice issued by the West Tamar Council in February.<\/p>\n
The notice, seen by the ABC, says: “No planning permit exists authorising the use of some or all of the land for ‘residential use’.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ms Grima has been diagnosed with stage-four cancer. (ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)<\/p>\n
The council said the park is only approved for visitor accommodation.<\/p>\n
“Council’s role is to ensure that the park \u2014 over time \u2014 moves back into compliance with the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act,” chief executive Kristen Desmond told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“Any arrangements regarding sales are strictly between the residents and the park, which is a privately owned entity.<\/p>\n
“Council has ensured that its enforcement action does not require residents to be displaced from the park.”<\/p>\n
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The park’s policy that residents cannot sell their homes when they leave has put residents in a difficult position. (ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)<\/p>\n
The situation puts existing residents such as Ms Grima \u2014 who did not know of the compliance issues when she bought into the caravan park \u2014 in a difficult position.<\/p>\n
They have been told because new residents cannot move in, they cannot sell their homes when they leave \u2014 a practice which used to regularly occur.<\/p>\n
While residents could move their structures off the park, most are no longer on wheels.<\/p>\n
“You might have a caravan in here, but we’ve got the joint on annexe, we’ve got carports, got sheds,” Ms Grima said.<\/p>\n
“It can’t be moved, it’s like a unit, not a caravan.”<\/p>\n
The local council says the caravan park is not approved for residential use. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)<\/p>\n
After the council first flagged the compliance issue early last year, the relationship between the park and its residents spiralled.<\/p>\n
The park banned sales and most modifications to homes, brought in stricter rules, and issued multiple residents with eviction notices.<\/p>\n
Some evictions led to legal battles, with resident John Lowe receiving a decision from the Supreme Court in June.<\/a><\/p>\n Acting Justice Shane Marshall said the new park rules, used to evict Mr Lowe, purported to “deprive long-term residents at the caravan park of any rights whatsoever”.<\/p>\n He ruled the eviction notice was “invalid and of no effect”.<\/p>\n The park is appealing against the verdict.<\/p>\n Lawyer for residents says they have a right to sell<\/p>\n Lawyer Vanessa Bleyer has represented seven residents of the park, including Mr Lowe and Ms Grima, and anticipates more cases will head to court.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, it’s not looking like those disputes are going to resolve through sensible correspondence,” she said.<\/p>\n Lawyer Vanessa Bleyer won a battle in the Supreme Court of Tasmania against a resident’s eviction. (ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)<\/p>\n She said the recent Supreme Court verdict established a “prior use exemption” allowing residents whose structures were in place before 2006, when different planning rules applied, to sell their homes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n