Retirement Village Residents Assoc. of NZ

The RVRANZ offers the following...

• Peace of mind knowing that there is an association that’s ensuring fair and equitable terms for retirement village living.

• News on developments within the sector and stories from around the country on how residents are making the most of village life.

• Assistance with connecting you or your residents committee to additional help, if needed.

• Assisting village residents who may not enjoy the same conditions as others.

Donations and membership have assisted with the following...

• The Rates Rebate Act Amendment. This allows residents to now claim up to $630 per annum. Our support was specifically acknowledged by Ruth Dyson in Parliament when it was passed into law 2018.

• The cessation of weekly maintenance fees on exit. Since our first submissions were made to the Stakeholder Forums many of the large operators have now stopped charging fees after exit.

• The need for residents to be able to fund their transition into care. Within two months of submitting this issue at a stakeholder forum a large village operator announced it would make an immediate $20,000 advance on their settlement of capital, where necessary. Others are now following suit with alternatives.

• The RVRANZ has continued to raise the issues around uncapped weekly fees. Many large operators have now shifted to fixed weekly village fees for life, instead of increasing them over a resident’s tenure.

• Removal of Capital Loss clause. Prior to the RVRANZ, most ORA’s contained a clause permitting the operator to take any capital loss incurred in the sale of a unit from the outgoing residents DMF. Most operators have now removed that clause.

• Clarifying the definition of refurbishment. This has always been controversial and ongoing consultation will hopefully see those remaining operators that have mis-used the definition follow indicated standards.

• Removal of multiple DMF’s. Most operators now do not charge multiple village contributions if you move within the village, e.g. from a villa to a serviced apartment. Some are yet to follow this standard.