Commentary: Village residents deserve better
Retirement villages have become bigger, more complex, and vastly more profitable, while resident protections have barely changed. Photo: Supplied.
VYVIENNE DUNLOP
The author is the village contact for RVResidents at Redwood Retirement Village.
On Monday, 11 May, members from Springlands Lifestyle and Marina Cove villages joined residents from Redwood Retirement Village to hear Di Sinclair, National Vice President and Complaints Coordinator of the Retirement Village Residents’ Association, speak about fair repayment.
Di explained that the Retirement Villages Act is nearly 23 years old. Retirement villages have become bigger, more complex, and vastly more profitable, while resident protections have barely changed.
For seven years, residents have asked for fair and modern protections. When the Government announced changes in December, residents were led to believe that real reform had finally arrived. Well, there is a cliffhanger clause: the wait time for capital to be repaid once a resident has died or moved out of a village.
Residents are aware when they sign their ORA (Occupational Rights Agreement) that, on exit, there would be as much as 30 percent deduction from the price they paid -- often most of their life savings). However, nowhere is it mentioned that the timeframe for their capital sum to be paid out can extend for months and, in some cases, even years.
The proposed new law will give operators 12 months to sit on residents’ money while they attempt to relicense a unit. There will be a small interest payment accrued from the six-month point.
In the community rental scene, bonds are generally paid back promptly on exit. There is absolutely no reason why village operators can’t do the same. The simple fact is village operators are landlords -- they own the properties -- and the residents are tenants.
Village residents are strongly urged to make submissions to the Select Committee and lobby MPs, as well as encourage family, friends and the general public to sign the Consumer NZ petition online (consumer.org.nz). This year is the decider as to how the draft review is settled, so we only have one chance to get this right.