Elderly in villages want law change

Retirement village residents are pushing for legislative change so they get a fairer deal from village operators who they say aren’t doing the best by the most vulnerable in society.

About 100 people turned up at a meeting in Stoke last week to get a progress report on legislation that would require retirement villages to quicken the pace at which they give money back to families whose loved ones have died while in care.

The Nelson-Tasman region has 15 retirement villages and about 1,500 residents, mostly living in villas or apartments, but also in care facilities.

Retirement Village Residents national president Brian Peat was at the meeting to discuss the existing Retirement Villages Act, which was created in 2003, and its review that is now underway.

It follows calls for change not just from the residents’ association, but also Consumer NZ and the Retirement Commissioner. Public consultation will follow the review which is being conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

While Brian is confident there will be changes to the law, he does not expect that to happen until after the election and it could be with a new Government.

Several of the larger retirement village operators are trialling some of the changes that residents are calling for, he says.

Residents buy an ‘occupation right agreement’ when they select a villa or apartment in a retirement village. Occupation right agreements vary dramatically and he says the 450 retirement villages around the country have 420 different agreements.

One of the main gripes for residents is getting their money back – or their family - when they leave their villas or apartments to go into care facilities, or they die.

Brian says the agreements often have no date about when money is paid back to the family when the villa or apartment is vacated.

In one case, a local family waited eight months to get the family’s money back from the retirement village when it was needed for a family member with a young family.

He says legislation is needed to make all retirement villages give money back to the families within 28 days of the homes being vacated, with interest paid on money that has been sitting there. He also wants a change to the act to stop villages charging fees even after someone has died.

Though residents buy an occupation right agreement, Brian says they are usually treated as tenants, yet do not have tenancy rights.

“Some of the clauses in the act are completely unfair and we want fairness.

“There’s a huge opportunity this election year to vote. Tap an MP on the shoulder and ask them what they think of the act.”

The association’s Tasman chairman Garry Thompson says residents in the region pay $800,000 or more for an occupation right agreement for a two-bedroom residence in a village.

He says elderly people have accepted the agreements with their variation of clauses because they want the lifestyle of a village, the compassion and the security as they get older. If problems arise, it is often too hard to fight for their rights, especially when the act does not protect them.

"The elderly are very vulnerable. Some don’t have families or don’t have families locally, or don’t like to ask families.”