What is the Retirement Villages Act?

All registered retirement villages in New Zealand are governed by the Retirement Villages Act 2003. The Retirement Villages Act and its regulations are designed to protect the interest of residents, and sets out basic standards for operating a village. These standards include things like:

• what information operators must disclose to current and prospective residents
• how residents' financial interests are protected
• details of how to exit a village
• residents' rights
• the complaints process  

You can read the full Retirement Villages Act 2003 here.

It's also worth looking at the Code of Practice, which sets the minimum standards of how a village must operate.

Recent work to review the legislation

The Government is currently working to review the Retirement Villages Act. Following public consultation, the following changes have been proposed (note that not all of the proposed changes might be accepted by parliament):

1. Repayments when a resident moves out

• If you have a special need for money, such as if you're moving into aged residential care, or are experiencing financial hardship, you will be able to apply for early access to your money.
• If it's been 6 months since you moved out and you haven't been repaid, the retirement village operator will be required to pay interest on the fund they owe you until you have been repaid.
• A 12-month maximum repayment timeframe will be introduced, so you can be certain you will not have to wait longer than 12 months to be repaid after you move out.

Certain villages would be exempt from this, such as for those with less than 50 units. If approved, these changes will apply to occupation right agreements signed one year after the amendment bill has been signed into law.

2. Weekly fees, fixed deductions and capital losses

• When you move out of your unit, your weekly fees will stop and fixed deductions will not accrue any higher.
• You will not be liable for capital losses unless you benefit from capital gains,

These changes will apply to new and existing occupation right agreements.

3. Chattels and fixtures in resident units and apartments

• New rules related to chattels and fixtures in units will be introduced so retirement village operators are responsible for the items they own and will pay the costs of maintaining, repairing and replacing them.
• Operators will have to provide a list of the chattels they own to you when you move in.
• New rules will be introduced related to gifting chattels to residents.

4. Complaints and disputes

• A new, independent disputes scheme that’s efficient and easy to use will be established.
• The new scheme will be delivered by a contracted dispute resolution scheme provider.
• You will be expected to raise any issues or complaints with the retirement village operator. If it cannot be resolved, the new scheme will help both parties reach a negotiated resolution. If that isn't possible, the new scheme can make a binding decisions.
• The cost of this new scheme will be met by retirement village operators.

5. Disclosure statements and occupation right agreements

• Regulations will be developed to make disclosure statements and occupation right agreements simpler and easier to access so you know exactly what they’re signing up for.
• Disclosure rules and obligations will be strengthened to ensure operators are clear and upfront about promised future services and facilities before you move into a village.
• The Registrar of Retirement villages will have new powers related to advertising material and registered documents that could mislead or deceive people considering moving into a retirement village.
• To improve protections against terms that are unfair to residents, a regulation making provision will be included in the Act which enable regulations to be made which prohibit certain terms from being included in occupation right agreements.

It is expected that a bill reflecting the changes will be introduced to Parliament in mid-2026. You will be able to have a say on these proposed changes during the select committee stage. Keep an eye out here, on the government website, or on trusted news sources to be aware of when that is.