All Victorian alpine resorts are Crown land permanently reserved under Section 4 (1) of the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978, with the exception of three small parcels of freehold land within the Mt Hotham Resort.
A lease grants an exclusive right to occupy a defined area of land. The Alpine Resorts Leasing Policy, which was released by the Government on 30 March 2002, provides a consistent framework for the leasing of Crown land in Victoria's alpine resorts.
This establishes overarching leasing principles around public benefit, consistency and transparency in process along with ecological sustainability to guide land managers, existing tenants and prospective tenants when making decisions about leasing.
Alpine Resorts Leasing Policy Implementation Guidelines
In 2019, the Alpine Resorts Coordinating Committee conducted a review of the Alpine Resorts Leasing Policy and this is still under way.
Standard Alpine Lease
The Standard Alpine Lease is the current form of lease issued at Mt Hotham.
Since the adoption of the Alpine Resorts Leasing Policy, 39 new leases have been issued in the Alpine Standard Lease form with an average lease term of 26 years. This represents 44% of the leased or occupied sites within the Resort.
Once a lease is entered into it is then sent to the Land Titles office for registration. A volume and folio number is then allocated to the lease and a certificate of title issued.
This is a legal binding document between the Landlord "Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management" and the Tenant.
Lease Term Criteria
Sub Leases
A large proportion of alpine property involves the individual ownership of apartments and other building elements such as commercial areas and car parks. The present ownership mechanisms under the alpine leasehold structure that have developed over time are:
- The owner has shares in the head lessee company. The shares give the exclusive right to use the nominated apartment, but there is no sublease:
- The owner has shares in the head lessee company and also has a sublease giving the exclusive right to use the nominated apartment;
- The owner has a sublease from the head lessee company giving the exclusive right to use the nominated apartment, but has no shares in the head lessee company.
The form of sublease and company structure can vary, but has become more standardised under the current leasing policy. All new head leases are now registered at the Titles Office and subleases likewise are also able to be registered.
New subleases and changes of ownership of subleases require the consent of the Resort Management.
Sample Form of Sub Lease
Sample Sub Lease Constitution
Sample Sublease Memorandum of Common Provisions