about us
The RVResidents is a national association, focused on providing a voice for residents in retirement villages, concerning the issues related to the legislation and code of practice that govern the organisation and running of retirement villages.
The RVResidents has been formed to promote and protect the rights of retirement village residents in New Zealand.
The focus is on the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and the Retirement Villages Code of Practice 2008.
The Act defines the rights of retirement village residents when they commit to an Occupation Right Agreement (ORA) with the owner of the retirement village, in which they purchase a license to occupy a villa, cottage, or apartment.
- to have residents views and requirements taken seriously,
- to highlight anomalies and injustices in the Act,
- to identify and point out anomalies and injustices in the way the Act is interpreted.
RVResidents ACHIEVEMENTS
1. The Rates Rebate Act Amendment. This allows residents to now claim up to $630 per annum. Our support was specifically acknowledged by Ruth Dyson in Parliament when it was passed into law in 2018.
2. The cessation of weekly maintenance fees on exit. Since our first submissions were made to the Stakeholder Forum many of the large operators have now stopped charging fees after exit.
3.The need for residents to be able to fund their transition into care. Within two months of submitting this issue at a stakeholder forum a large village operator announced it would make an immediate $20,000 advance on their settlement of capital, where necessary. Others are now following suit with alternatives.
4. The RVResidents has continued to raise the issues around uncapped weekly fees. Many large operators have now shifted to fixed weekly village fees for life, instead of increasing them over a residents tenure.
5. Removal of Capital Loss clause. Prior to the RVResidents, most ORAs contained a clause permitting the operator to take any capital loss incurred in the relicensing of their unit from the outgoing residents DMF. Most operators have now removed that clause.
6. Clarifying the definition of refurbishment. This has always been controversial and ongoing consultation will hopefully see those remaining operators that have misused the definition, follow indicated standards.
7. Removal of multiple DMFs. Most operators now do not charge multiple village contributions if you move within the village, e.g. from a villa to a serviced apartment. Some are yet to follow this standard.
Constitution and Rules
Click either of the buttons below to download the PDF file that gives you the full text of the ‘Constitution and Rules’ or the ‘Draft Constitution’.
Our Sponsors
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RVResidents website