Retirement Living Lawyers – Retirement Village Advice for residents

The contracts and agreements for retirement villages are typically extensive documents. There are many issues that need to be considered when looking to buy into a retirement village and the conditions and expenses may or may not be suitable to your lifestyle or budget. You may need to make varying financial contributions, such as ingoing contributions and management or service fees.

Consideration must also be given to the process of when you leave the Retirement Village. There are generally extensive exit costs associated with leaving a Retirement Village which could also affect your estate on your death.

Most retirement villages have extensive rights to terminate your agreement or force a sale or require you to move out. It is important to understand what those potential events are before committing.

Restrictions on lifestyle and access to services is important to consider, where will you park, common areas, cleaning, medical assistance, functions and events, use of facilities and other living arrangements need to be considered.

Whilst retirement living has clear lifestyle advantages it is important to get the right accounting and legal advice to ensure that the financial commitment is understood. From a general sense, moving to a Retirement Village is not a decision you make as a financial investment. It is a decision that many clients consider for the lifestyle and services the particular Retirement Village offers.

We work with clients to help them make an informed decision and look for any potential issues that may cause difficulties later in the contracts.

It is important to seek advice earlier in the negotiation stage so that you understand the costs and agreements clearly. Affordability, use of your property and services is key to retirement living and we look to ensure that these key items are clearly understood.

Our lawyers can help with legal matters if you’re thinking of moving to a retirement home. They can give advice and assist with negotiations and legal requirements and conveyancing.

Speak to a retirement home lawyer today about your matter.

When you look to purchase or lease in a retirement village, you commonly encounter different types of ownership models. They all are different in terms of cost, security, decision-making rights etc. Finding the right fit for you is important from the outset.

The different retirement village ownership models are:

Licence

Amongst the documents when commencing residency at a Retirement Village is a Licence Agreement which gives you the right to occupy the Retirement Village Unit. You do not own the Unit, but you are granted a right to reside in the Unit, but ownership remains with the Retirement Village. Often payment is made by the resident in the form of a Refundable Accommodation Deposit, which increases the longer the resident remains at the Village.

Lease

A retirement village may offer a long-term lease. The lease agreement will be accompanied by a service agreement and both need to be carefully considered. The lease will be governed by property laws, however the service agreement is a private arrangement between you and the developer/owner.

The service agreement will outline how the services are maintained and the rights and obligations of owners. There will most likely be detailed financial information that needs to be considered.

This type of ownership has more control over the premises than a licence agreement, however the service agreement and management of the premises is heavily controlled by the owner.

It is important to understand the nature of the services being provided and what rights and influence you have over the cost, quality of the services and maintenance etc. There is limited scope for problems to arise when costs are contained and there is appropriate management in place. However, you should pay regard to these potential issues as issues may arise in the future.

A retirement village lawyer is best placed to guide you through the agreements and any other legal documentation when you are looking to move into a retirement village. You will also need to consider the premises, community and operation and expenses of the retirement village as well. These decisions do require time and we work with you to ensure that you understand your rights and properly consider the legal issues and potential constraints there are.