Retirement villages regulations

The following regulations that accompany the Retirement Villages Act 2003 are in force. Copies of these regulations can be found at the New Zealand Legislation website or purchased at Bennetts Bookshop.

Retirement Villages (Crossdale Courts) Order 2008

This is a special regulation declaring the property known as Crossdale Courts to be a retirement village for the purposes of the Act.

Retirement Villages (Disputes Panel) Regulations 2006

The Disputes Panel Regulations contain information on the process for resolving disputes between residents and operators. Since 1 October 2006 all retirement villages, as defined in section 6 of the Act, need to operate, or provide access to, an internal complaints facility. Any disputes that cannot be resolved at the village level can then be referred to the Disputes Panel set up under the Act.

Retirement Villages (Fees) Regulations 2006

The Fees Regulations set out the fees payable for the registration of villages and the filing of annual returns under the Act. The registration of villages started on 1 May 2007 and all villages must be registered by 1 November 2007. 

Retirement Villages (General) Regulations 2006

The General Regulations provide detail on the content of the documents necessary to register a village, such as occupation right agreements and disclosure statements. The regulations also contain information about statutory supervisors of villages and their duties to residents and operators.  The General Regulations came into force on 1 May 2007.

Disclosure statement template for retirement village operators

The disclosure statement is a requirement of the Act. As of 1 May 2007 all operators must issue compliant disclosure statements to intending residents before these residents can sign occupation right agreements. A disclosure statement will also need to be lodged with the Registrar of Retirement Villages as part of the registration process. All existing residents should have received a compliant disclosure statement by 1 May 2008.

Details of what should be included in the disclosure statement are outlined in Schedule 2 and schedule 5 of the Retirement Villages Act, and the Retirement Villages (General) Regulations. A disclosure statement template designed by the Department is available, free of charge, to help operators to develop these complex documents.  The disclosure statement template for Retirement Village operators [Word 813 KB, 27 pages] is a guide only and its use is voluntary.  Operators may wish to develop their own disclosure statements without using this template.

It is important to make sure that the disclosure statement is compliant with the legislation. Occupation right agreements may be void if a resident entered into the agreement without receiving a disclosure statement that complies with the Act.