Retirement Village Contracts
Author:
Andersons Solicitors
Publish Date: December 2, 2008
Moving from the family home into a retirement village is a big step. A retirement village is a community with attached standards and services. As such it comes with rights and obligations which differ markedly from those applicable to conventional accommodation.
Prospective residents need to make sure that they understand the costs of retirement village accommodation, have a contractual right to get what they pay for and understand and are willing to comply with the obligations that will fall on them as retirement village residents.
At Andersons we can help you to review your retirement village contract before committing to the retirement village of your choice. Because we see a wide range of retirement village contracts, we are in a good position to quickly advise you if the terms of your contract are reasonable.
A retirement village is a specific type of accommodation regulated under the Retirement Villages Act. A retirement village provides multiunit accommodation for persons over 55 who have retired from full time employment. Residents are generally required to pay recurrent charges towards management of the village and the upkeep of common property. Specific fees may be payable for personal services provided to the resident, such as meals or cleaning.
Generally residents must pay a premium on commencing to occupy the accommodation.
Before you sign your residence contract you must be provided with copies of a range of documents including a residence contract, village financial statements, residence rules and the remarketing policy. You should get legal advice about these documents before you sign your residence contract.
The residence contract advises you whether you will lease or license your unit, or hold title to it. If you hold title there may be restrictions on your ability to transfer it or borrow money against it. The contract will also advise the degree to which you will be entitled to a refund of your premium and the deductions that will be made from the premium on remarketing.
Often the repayment of your premium is dependent on obtaining a new resident for your property. The remarketing policy defines the process for obtaining a new resident and the remarketing costs for which you are liable, such as the cost of upgrading the property for new occupation, agents fees and advertising.
If you have already signed your contract, you are entitled to a 15 day cooling off period. We can review your contract in this period and advise you about any problems, giving you the opportunity to pull out if necessary.
If you are considering specific retirement village accommodation please contract Andersons on 1800 653 655 to make an appointment to see one of our helpful lawyers at our city or suburban Adelaide offices, or one of our country branches at Mt Gambier, Murray Bridge, Port Lincoln or Victor Harbor.
