What a retirement village is
How NZ legislation defines retirement village
The term retirement village is defined under Section 6 of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 (the Act) and covers a wide range of villages, regardless of what the village is actually called.
Complying with the law
The Act requires the operator of every facility meeting the definition of a retirement village to ensure the village is registered.
A retirement village operator must not make any offers of occupation or advertise unless it's registered on the Retirement Villages Register (except on certain restricted terms provided for by Section 25 of the Act).
It's irrelevant what particular legal form (such as a licence to occupy, unit title, or lifetime lease or tenancy) is used when a resident purchases a right to live in a unit in a registered retirement village — regardless of the form, the residents will be protected by the Act.
The features of a retirement village
A retirement village is any place that has all of the following features:
- Multiple units
The place has 2 or more residential units. A residential unit might be a villa, an apartment, a studio unit, a kaumatua flat, or even a room in a rest home, or any other place that was built as, or is now mainly used as, a unit of accommodation. - Accommodation and services or facilities
The place provides residential accommodation, together with services or shared facilities, or both. - For retirement
The place is mainly for people in their retirement, including their spouses or partners. - Capital sum
The residents pay a capital sum in return for their right to live in the place. A capital payment could be either a lump sum or periodic payments, if the payments are substantially more than would be paid to cover rent and such services or facilities for the relevant period.