Legal structures

It is important to understand that people with complex care needs, who may require greater medical attention, will not always suit living in a serviced apartment.

Eligibility to reside in a serviced apartment or a supported living community may require you to be assessed as requiring assistance with daily living activities. A registered nurse or health care professional will complete the independent assessment which you can arrange to be conducted in the privacy and comfort of your own home. Extra care services can be tailored to suit residents’ health needs if required for an extra fee, which may include help with personal hygiene or managing medications.

Some retirement villages offer rental accommodation, sometimes known as periodic tenancy, but these are generally reserved for people with limited financial resources and are usually income assessed.

You will generally be charged a rental that is a percentage of the age pension and you may be eligible for rent assistance from Centrelink.

If you prefer to live in close proximity to other people and only require limited services, such as meals, then a community house is ideal as it offers low cost bedsitter housing. These are excellent options for those with a lower asset base.

These communities provide lifestyle village experiences with added care support. Similar to serviced apartments and support living, this option is great for people who would prefer to be in retirement accommodation and don’t want to go straight into an aged care facility.

These one bedroom units allow a person to either remain independent or use the services the village offers on a ‘user pays’ basis, such as meals, cleaning or laundry services.

These communities provide lifestyle village experiences with added care support. Similar to serviced apartments and support living, this option is great for people who would prefer to be in retirement accommodation and don’t want to go straight into an aged care facility.

When living in a Care community you can access additional supports as you age and your needs increase without you having to move to a different support setting such as supported loving or an aged care home. You can continue living in your own place in the same community but benefit from additional care and support, including personal support, dementia care and palliative care.

Regardless of the type of tenure, residents are consulted about the ongoing management of the village to ensure the tenure they have chosen cannot be changed without the residents’ approval.

It is strongly advisable to seek legal advice on the effect of the form of tenure which applies to you, this should also be specified in the residence contract.

There are different ways a resident may be granted a right to occupy a unit in a retirement village by way of lease or licence.

Long-term licence agreements usually include a right to include common areas and village facilities. Licences are not registered on certificates of title and therefore may appear to be a less secure form of tenure. Terms and conditions of licenses are usually similar to leases.

Leases usually contain detailed provisions which set out the rights and obligations of residents and village administrators. This is the most common form of retirement village tenure.

Residents can be provided with a long-term lease for example for life or 99 years. This is is often registered on the title, providing security of tenure and the right to use common areas and the villages’ facilities.

Current residents have no responsibility to pay rates, taxes and insurance for undeveloped land or newly built unoccupied units in villages operating under licence or lease agreements. Retirement village residents, typically pay no stamp duty for a unit they acquire under a licence or lease tenure.

Direct freehold ownerships of Strata Title or Community Title units are given to residents under direct ownership arrangements.

A Strata Title is created when a structure is divided into separate units.

The ownership of a Strata Titled Unit is restricted to the space within its exterior walls, as well as any area defined on the unit plan as a unit subsidiary, such as a carport or fenced garden area.

The units must have common grounds which residents have a right to use, and for which everyone is responsible.

Retirement village unit owners are members of a Strata corporation, which administers and maintains the property, and employs an operator to be responsible for providing extra services, such as social activities, transport and personal services.

These unit owners usually pay a quarterly fee to cover costs associated with strata management,

Riverwood offers an atmosphere of community and family. Residents can relax and enjoy enclosed, peaceful gardens or participate in the very active lifestyle of the Village. Family members and friends are always welcome, and are an integral part of the warm community feel of Riverwood. Riverwood features: • Close to the centre of Albury and medical services. • Active Village lifestyle activities include bowling green, billiards, indoor heated swimming pool, shop, hairdresser, library and bar, all located onsite. • Private and spacious, set amongst 18 acres of established gardens and offering a 24-hour call bell system. • Strata titled. • Co-located with Aged Care. Call to organise a tour of the Village at a time which suits you.

Riverwood Retirement Living 990 Padman Drive, West Albury NSW 2640 t: (02) 6023 9700

the operator, building insurance and maintenance of the common areas.

These types of titles divide land to create separate lots and common property in an arrangement similar to Strata Titles.

Community Schemes and Community Strata Schemes are two types of community titles available, and must divide the land to create at least two lots and common property.

The difference between Community Title Units and Strata Titles is the developer in Community Title Units must retain a development lot for later division into further lots within the scheme.

The owner is responsible for the maintenance and insurance of structures in a community scheme, and lot boundaries are determined by surveyed land measure and not by relation to a structure.

In a Community Strata Scheme, boundaries are defined by divisions in the building where there is more than one storey existing above another.

Owners of community lots are automatically members of a Community Corporation under the Community Titles Act. This corporation administers, maintains and insures the structure, common land and any fixtures.

Indirect ownership of a unit is an arrangement which gives the resident the right to occupy a residential unit in a village, or complex, owned by a company or a unit trust.

This scheme allows residents to buy shares in a company that owns a village.

Although residents do not own a direct interest in the unit, the shares entitle the resident to occupy a particular unit in the village and to use the common area and facilities.

Unit Trusts entitle residents to occupy a particular unit in a village and use the common areas and facilities, similar to the Company Title arrangement.

The trustee of the trust owns the village and there is no registered title or lease with this scheme. If you opt for this legal structure, the deed under which the trust was created contains the terms and conditions of this arrangement.

This type of lease, which is often short-term, entitles residents to use the common areas and facilities of a village, but when the term expires, the resident is expected to either leave or renew the lease.

In some cases, the lease converts to a periodic tenancy and the resident usually has a right to transfer or assign a lease subject to the operator’s consent. The resident may also have the right to terminate the lease on reasonable notice.

Operating under a ground lease only, these villages are occupied by either new or used transportable homes, or a new home erected on the site. The manufactured transportable home can be dismantled and re-erected elsewhere. These types of homes may also be known as manufactured or relocatable homes.

Under the site lease or licence agreement, residents are able to use the common areas and facilities of the village.

Other terms and conditions relating to the rights and obligations of parties are documented in the lease or licence paperwork.