New South Wales Consolidated Acts

RESIDENTIAL (LAND LEASE) COMMUNITIES ACT 2013 - SECT 77

77 Utility charges payable to operator or third party supplier

(1) This section applies if--

(a) a home owner is required, under a site agreement, to pay utility charges--

(i) to the operator of the community or a third party supplier for the community for the use of electricity supplied to the residential site through an embedded network, or

(ii) to the operator for the use of a utility other than electricity at the residential site, or

(b) a tenant is required, under a tenancy agreement, to pay utility charges to the operator of the community or a third party supplier for the community for the use of electricity supplied to the residential site through an embedded network.

(2) The home owner is not required to pay the utility charges unless--

(a) usage is separately measured or metered, and

(b) the operator or third party supplier gives the home owner an itemised account in accordance with section 83, and

(c) the home owner is given at least 21 days to make the payment.

(3) The tenant is not required to pay the utility charges for the use of electricity unless--

(a) the operator or third party supplier gives the tenant an itemised account in accordance with section 83, and

(b) the tenant is given at least 21 days to make the payment.

Note--: See the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 , section 40 and the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 , clause 34 in relation to the metering requirements relating to a tenant's liability to pay utility charges.

(4) The operator or third party supplier must not charge a daily supply charge, or usage charge per kWh, for the use of electricity that is more than, respectively, the daily supply charge, or usage charge per kWh, that would be payable under the community's comparable market offer.

: Maximum penalty--20 penalty units.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal must determine the median retail market offer for residential customers for each distribution district in accordance with the regulations.

(6) The operator must not charge an amount for the use of a utility other than electricity that is more than the amount charged by the utility service provider for the quantity of the service supplied to, or used at, the residential site.

: Maximum penalty--20 penalty units.

(7) The regulations may--

(a) prescribe maximum utility charges payable to the operator of a community or a third party supplier for a community, and

(b) make it an offence for the operator of a community or a third party supplier for a community to request or receive payment for a utility charge that is more than the relevant maximum utility charge, and

(c) provide for discounts to daily supply charges payable for electricity if less than 60 amps is supplied to the residential site, and

(d) provide for the publication of comparable market offers for communities.

(8) In this section--

"comparable market offer" , in relation to a community, means the median retail market offer for residential customers, determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal under subsection (5), for the distribution district of the community's network service provider.

"distribution district" has the same meaning as in the Electricity Supply Act 1995 .

"market offer" has the same meaning as in the National Energy Retail Law (NSW) .

"network service provider" has the same meaning as in the National Electricity Rules .