Retirement Village Residence Contract – What documents are required?

Retirement village contracts can be lengthy and difficult to understand and are substantially different from other contracts you may have encountered during your lifetime.

Retirement village contracts usually include several documents which can be overwhelming. In this article/blog we discuss the different types of documents that must be given to a prospective resident prior to entering into a residence contract.

By law, the following documents must be given to a prospective resident at least 21 days before the Retirement Village Operator and the resident enter into a residence contract:

• Village comparison document
• Prospective costs document
• Residence contract
• the village by-laws
• any other required documents.

This enables the prospective resident time to read these documents carefully and seek professional advice about their legal and financial interests. A prospective resident has the right to waive the 21 day period if you get legal advice about the residence contract from a Queensland lawyer.

Village comparison document

The Village Comparison Document gives general information about the retirement village accommodation, facilities and services, including the general costs of moving into, living in and leaving the retirement village. This makes it easier for you to compare retirement villages. This document will enable you to view and compare features of different villages. It must be available on the website for the village. A completed village comparison document must be provided to a prospective resident within 7 days of their initial request.

The Village comparison document includes the following general information about the retirement village accommodation and costs:

• operator and management details
• age limits
• accommodation, facilities and services
• accommodation types
• access and design
• parking for residents and visitors
• planning and development
• facilities onsite at the village
• services
• security and emergency systems
• costs and financial management
• ongoing costs
• exit fees – when you leave the village
• re-instatement and renovation of the unit
• capital gain or losses
• exit entitlement
• financial management of the village
• financial management of the body corporate
• insurance
• living in the village
• visitors
• village by-laws and village rules
• resident input
• accreditation
• waiting list.

Prospective Costs Document

The Prospective Costs Document refers to a specific unit in the retirement village and gives details about:

• The costs of entering this retirement village
• The current ongoing costs of living in this retirement village
• The estimated costs you will pay if you leave this unit after 1, 2, 5 and 10 years of residence
• The estimated exit entitlement you will receive if you leave this unit after 1, 2, 5 and 10 years of residence.

This document must include:

• name, address and details of scheme operator
• type of unit and tenure of the unit
• car parking
• unit layout and access design features
• fixtures, fittings and furnishings
• encumbrances or endorsements on the village land
• ingoing contribution and other entry costs
• ongoing costs
• exit fee, reinstatement of unit and other exit costs- when you leave
• exit entitlement
• estimated resident exit entitlement when resident exits after 1, 2, 5 and 10 years of residence.

Residence Contract

To live in a registered retirement village, a prospective resident must enter into a residence contract. The contract includes information about your rights and responsibilities when living in the retirement village as well as those of the operator.

The residence contract must include:

• the start and end dates of the cooling-off period
• your right to withdraw the contract before the cooling-off period ends
• the ingoing contribution amount
• the exit fee payable under the contract
• the resident’s exit entitlement
• the services charges, the amounts payable and when they are due
• the insurance for the retirement village, and insurance for which the resident is responsible
• any conditions on living in the village that the resident needs to be aware of and agree to
• the resident’s right to resell their right to reside in the unit
• the resident’s entitlement to audited and unaudited financial statements for the village
• the dispute resolution process
• the operator’s and resident’s rights to terminate the contract
• the funds the scheme operator is required to keep
• the retirement village facilities and land
• whether the operator and resident are to share in any capital gain or loss, and how it is to be shared
• any other matters prescribed by regulation.

If you are contemplating moving into a Retirement Village and would like us to review and advise you on these documents, please contact our team today. We have acted for clients in relation to their Retirement Village Residence Contract.

For more information on the documents needed for a Retirement Village, please click here.