Peak body for New Zealand RVs trials new voluntary sector reforms

New Zealand’s Retirement Villages Association (RVA) has unveiled new voluntary reforms to the sector, which it describes as the most significant since the passage of legislation in 2003. The reforms approved by members of the RVA – which represents the operators of more than 95% of the country’s retirement units, including independent, listed and Not For Profit – will be trialled for 12 months as best-practice guidelines before being voted on at next year’s AGM. They include, but are not limited to:

• Requiring operators to pay interest on outstanding capital sums if a resident has not been repaid within nine months of vacating their unit
• Asking operators to stop charging weekly fees to residents who have terminated and vacated their units
• Asking members to eliminate any perceived unfair clauses in their contracts with residents
• Supporting residents when they need funding to move into residential aged care, including helping them obtain a residential care loan from the Ministry of Social Development

According to Graham Wilkinson (pictured, below), President of the RVA, the peak body has always accepted the need for consumer protection improvements that are “feasible and make sense”.

“Retirement village living is one of the country’s most popular housing options, with more than 100 New Zealanders moving into a retirement village every week, and independent research shows overwhelming satisfaction rates. “Developing and enforcing industry best practice is a more effective and fairer way to resolve these issues rather than legislative upheaval for the sake of it. Our industry’s Blueprint is clearly delivering positive outcomes for residents across New Zealand,” he said.

In Australia, the WA Government last month announced proposed reforms to the state’s Retirement Villages Act 1992, including requiring operators to pay exit entitlements to residents leaving villages within 12 months of their departure.