Dozens of people have been ordered to clear their sites at a holiday park on the NSW south coast as the owner puts redevelopment plans in motion, but several Canberrans among them don't plan to go quietly.
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Allswell Communities, which owns Tomaga River Holiday Park in Tomakin, said it issued 31 termination notices to casual occupants on Thursday as part of its plans to redevelop the site.
Holiday park owners in NSW are required to give 90 days' notice when ordering long-term casual occupants to clear their sites, and Allswell Communities has given those who received the letters last week until August 31.
In total, about 90 casual occupancy sites will eventually be rezoned as the number of permanent residential sites at the park increases from 17 to 89.
Franklin retirees Robin and Elizabeth Turnbull, who bought a cabin at the park for $44,500 seven years ago, are among several Canberrans planning to take legal action in search of compensation.
"What we're aiming to do is get some justice," Mr Turnbull said.
"We would like people to be able to leave the park without losing any money. They have bought into the site in good faith, not expecting to lose thousands of dollars to the big end of town."
Allswell Communities has offered a $5000 payment to casual occupants who are forced to leave Zone 1 at the park, provided they have paid their site fees and cleared their sites.
Mr Turnbull, who is leading a committee of affected tenants, said he hoped legal action would secure more compensation, describing the $5000 offer as "grossly inadequate".
Even if he received the $5000, Mr Turnbull said it would cost more to relocate his cabin.
With nowhere to take his cabin without leaving himself open to a similar situation, he said he stood to lose nearly $40,000 if he was forced to walk away.
He said he had written to several NSW government ministers about the legislation covering holiday parks, suggesting it be amended to make holiday park owners buy back assets from occupants when terminating their agreements.
"Under the current legislation, in one fell swoop, a holiday park owner can turn your asset into a liability," Mr Turnbull said.
Allswell Communities director Nick Bonifant said the offer of $5000 compensation was "more than fair".
Mr Bonifant said the offer amounted to more than a year's worth of site fees, and the affected occupants would still own their caravans or cabins once they cleared their sites.
He said Allswell Communities had always acted within the law, and pointed out that the NSW Holiday Parks Act stated that any dwelling should be "kept in a condition allowing it to be moved".
To date, 17 of the 31 occupants issued with termination notices had requested to stay in the park and be relocated to another site, he said.
"The casual occupants are not tenants and do not have any permanent residency rights," Mr Bonifant said.
"Our agreement was for them to occupy the site for holidays and for that to pay us site fees to locate their holiday van or cabin on a site in the park.
"There has never been any promise to allow occupation of the sites for longer than 12 months."
