From the President’s Desk

Well, what a whirlwind few months. With multiple submissions to government agencies, select committees and 12 presentations over the North Island in 20 days, there has been a lot happening. Our membership is now heading towards 10,000 thanks to the hard work of our Village Contacts.

Peter Carr, Nigel Matthews and myself met with Minister Woods in late August. At this meeting she instructed her Officials that she wanted the review of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 to be fully scoped by the close of this year, and wanted a first reading in the House before next year’s election.

We then met with the Officials late Oct 22. It was apparent that little progress had been made with the scope document, but they committed to have it on the Ministers desk before Christmas 2022.

Over the next 18 months your Residents Association will continue to actively engage the Minister and Officials, along with support from Consumer NZ and other associations. The Association will be faced with extra costs during this next period, so please continue with your support.

It is essential that all MP’s are aware of the issues with the current Retirement Villages Act, and with 2023 being an election year - your local MP’s need to hear from you too.

We are launching Associate Memberships available for individuals (not yet in a village) and family members. This will allow those close to you to be kept informed and help support fairer terms on exit – which affects all of our families. I have made a personal commitment to pay the first year Subscription for my 3 children. I challenge all of you to do the same.

I look forward to meeting many of you in 2023.

Welcome to RVResidents First “Members Magazine”

When the National Association launched from four regional associations in 2015, its mission was simple - ‘a local ear, a national voice.’ It relied on $5 memberships and one Secretary (Dick Williams, 83 years young) to record, and manage the subs of 2000+ members on an Excel spreadsheet. Dick also put the newsletter together and then uploaded it to the RVRANZ website for people to read.

Today, the Association is in quite a different position, thanks to the tireless work of both past and current teams of volunteers and village contacts. RVResidents now has nearly 10,000 financial supporters, representing a sector that is home to almost 50,000 retirement village residents. The work of the Association has been possible because of the financial support of members and family throughout the country. This ‘Member’s Edition’ is made possible by the advertisers, sponsors and membership fees we receive. If you’re not a supporter and would like to know more, then contact registrar@rvr.org.nz

Inside you’ll find:

• Great Initiatives by Village Operators (pg 4)

• A year of submissions, sudden reforms and sector review... 2022 in Review (pg 5)

• Supporting RVResidents. What legislative change could look like. (pg 8)

• RVR’s Best Practice Score (pg 10)

• What did you say?!? Hearing difficulties in Retirement Villages (pg 12)

• Voicing a Concern (pg 16)

Regards,

Brian Peat National President

PS. If you are not yet a member, please sign up. There are approximately 50,000 residents in Villages, and we would like to think that every resident can become a member of RVResidents.

• Opinion Piece + Book Review (pg 18)

For acronym definitions, please see pg 2 of New Zealand’s Best.

Titanic Cartoon pg 5: Used with permission lamontagneart.com

Great Initiatives by Operators…

With much discussion in the media on an upcoming legislative review for retirement villages, plus ‘trial’ sector reforms, it’s refreshing when operators innovate or make changes for the express benefit of residents (existing and prospective). We highlight some of those initiatives above minimum / legislated standards.

Capital Gain:

Karaka and Freedom Villages both offer ORA’s that share the vast majority (75%+) of the capital gain with residents. Hopper Living, Vivid Living, and trusts like Tainui also have options to share in the capital gain in their villages. Residents want this!

Repair of Chattels:

Unlike residential tenancies where the landlord is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the owner’s chattels, most village operators do not. This can come as a bit of a shock, especially when the resident does not own them, or has had no say in the purchase of them. Some chattels may even be several years old when a resident moves in While Summerset, Ryman and several other operators, including some not for profits have covered repairs and maintenance for a while, Arvida has also recently updated its Occupation Right Agreement (“ORA”) terms, retroactively, to cover costs for repairs and maintenance to chattels that come with the units. Arvida have implemented a cloud-based solution to better manage repairs and maintenance. Arvida General Manager for Village

Services, Kay Marshall, says the innovation ensures a more efficient and seamless maintenance experience for residents, and staying “one step ahead of repairs”. Another nice touch, Acacia Cove provides free emergency pendants to it’s residents and offers free daily check up calls, if they so desire.

Changing your mind:

Being sure the move into a village is the right one for you, doesn’t always happen until after you’ve moved in. Ryman and a handful of other operators offer a 90 money back period for residents to be sure, while Chatsford Lifestyle Village offers a 6 month guarantee, which is excellent.

Return of funds at exit:

Most residents (and lawyers) do not consider the implications of what happens, financially, when you leave a village - normally due to a change in personal circumstances or health needs. While a number of operators might pay out on a case by case basis, many won’t until they have re-licenced the unit. Ryman stand by the statement, that in 35 years they’ve never kept anyone waiting longer than 6 months for their capital. Bupa had a 6 month guarantee, but removed it.

Vivid Living, by Fletchers Building, however, have a solution that will see residents receive 10% of their funds at exit (to help with any immediate costs) and then guarantee return of funds within 4 months while still sharing capital gain!

Wider Community:

Community integration and intergenerational living is becoming a bigger deal today. Wintons’s Northbrook later living villages are part of existing Winton masterplanned neighbourhoods, aiming to facilitate ongoing intergenerational community connection as residents live their later years at Northbrook. Vivid Living are also following a similar approach. Others, like Arvida, engage within the community with their ‘Good Friends’ Living Well Centres, and others have cafes or programmes that connect with the wider community.

The future?:

While it’s too early to say what changes might come from a legislative review, it’s clear that some operators can, and do, initiate great, resident-centric changes retrospectively for their customers. We look forward to seeing what other operators do that will have a positive impact on the sector.

RVResidents: A year of submissions, sudden reforms and sector review... 2022 in Review

Whether you’re in a smaller not-for-profit village unit or a ‘resort-style’ villa - the concept of retirement village living can be a fantastic option - and for many, it is just that. By and large, we get the benefit of security, peace of mind, a like-minded community to share our days with - and we can prettymuch tick the “happiness box”… until something happens.

RVResidents have invested considerable time and resources over the last 24 months into ensuring the voice and concerns of residents are heard at a governmental level, while endeavouring to work with the national operators association (RVA) to see self-regulatory reform implemented. Unfortunately, self reform seems to be taking just as long as a full legislative review will take, and those reforms currently fall short of providing a fair and equitable balance.

What changes are needed?

Well, that’s easily summed up - “better consumer protection for vulnerable village residents”. Some of the questions that residents ask which show that this is needed are;

• Is it fair that I have to keep paying a weekly fee after I exit, even until the new resident moves in?

That “something” can be a change in health, a family crisis, the loss of a loved one, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most staff and residents are suited for village life, but some are not, and if one of them is your neighbour or a manager / owner then your options can be very limited. It’s when the ‘something’ suddenly happens that the policies, processes and framework gets tested. No one expected the ‘Titanic’ to sink, until it did, and then it was too late to ask why it only had 1/3 of the lifeboats needed to save all its passengers?

This might not be a Titanic situation yet, but over the last 20 years that the Retirement Villages Act has been in place, the landscape has changed, and the processes developed back then would not have envisaged today’s market, nor how the village model has swung to an operator-biased position.

• Should an operator be able to keep accruing the deferred management fee (DMF) after I exit?

• If I don’t share in the capital gain, should I be liable for any capital loss, if there is one?

• Is it fair to have to pay two DMF’s in the one village?

• Are there limits on how much an operator can charge me to transfer between apartments?

• Do all villages offer fixed weekly fees?

• Can an operator make a unilateral change to the village without consultation?

• If I want to lodge a complaint, is there someone that can help me sort it out in a timely manner?

• Why do I have to wait for the operator to relicense my unit before I get my money back?

• How come I’m responsible for repairing and maintaining chattels if I don’t own them? I wouldn’t have to if I was renting.

2022 in Review (continued)

What’s happened to date?

Working to get legislative change has not happened overnight. It’s taken years of talking to government agencies to understand how the system works and who makes the decisions.

Here’s a snapshot of what it has taken over the last three years to get to a review.

2019

Nov 2019 - CFFC Retirement Villages Forum in Christchurch. The then Assoc. Minister for Housing, Chris Faafoi states that they will not be in a position to look at a review until after they have completed their work on the Residential Tenancies Act due mid 2020.

2020

July 2020 - No progress.

Nov 2020 - After discussions with the RVR, the CFFC launches a White Paper into the Retirement Village sector. No printed response forms - only online. RVResidents successfully lobby to have printed forms received by the CFFC if the RVR arranges print and distribution. RVR does so.

2021

Feb 2021 - RVR submits 2000 of the 3500+ responses submitted. A staggering 98.5% of the RVR respondents agree that it is ‘timely, effective and efficient for a [full] policy review’ of the retirement villages framework to be undertaken. Only 1% of RVR respondents disagreed. CFFC delays release of results due to unprecedented response.

March 2021 - RVR Exec have a combined meeting with Minister Ayesha Verrall (Minister for Seniors and Associated Minister of Health) and Minister Poto Williams (Minister of Police and Associate Minister of Housing) - both with several support staff, to discuss the sector.

May 2021 - Associate Minister of Housing, Poto Williams, states there are ‘no immediate plans’ to review the legislation.

May 2021 - RVResidents begins a petition calling for 1. An urgent review and 2. Repayment of capital back to residents within 28 days of exit.

May 2021 - CFFC releases findings from White Paper Report calling for ‘an urgent review of the Retirement Villages Act’.

June 2021 - Associate Minister of Housing revisits her original statement and says that it looks like a review ‘is warranted’.

Aug 2021 - RVR develops the ‘Framework for Fairness’A Guide to Best Practice in Retirement Villages.

Nov 2021 - RVR presents a 12,500 signed petition to Simon Bridges, Christopher Luxon and other National MP’s on parliament steps.

Dec 2021 - RVR meets with Assoc. Minister of Housing, Poto Williams, who says she will be instructing her officials to commence the review immediately.

Dec 2021 - RVR meets with Ministry of Housing officials and are advised that it won’t commence until later in 2023.

2022

Jan 2022 - RVR contacts Assoc. Minister of Housing over concern with her instructions being ‘misunderstood’ by her officials.

Feb 2022 - Ministry of Housing confirms that it now will begin work on the scoping immediately (only to be delayed by some ‘urgent’ resource work).

March 2022 - RVR submits documentation to the Select Committee.

May 2022 - Retirement Commission holds an online workshop to discuss the complaints process. RVR gives solid presentation using over 1600 members feedback.

Aug 2022 - RVR holds first ‘Inspire’ Workshop for Exec and RVR Regional contacts to discuss the legislative review.

Aug 2022 - RVR invited to attend and present at Retirement Villages forum held at Parliament House. The protections in the new residential tenancies act were compared to the current RV Act and the concept of using the ‘Bank of Grandma and Grandad’ to build new villages was presented.

Aug 2022 - RVR Speaks to Select Committee and utilises a ‘Villageopoly’ game to help explain the catches with some village contracts. Media pick up on this and it is featured in Stuff, NZ Herald and NBR. The Operators Assoc. (RVA) quickly respond to media calling the game ‘contrived’, ‘convoluted’ and ‘ignoring reality’.

Sept 2022 - Consumer NZ speaks to the Select Committee in support of both the RVR’s urgent review and 28 day return of funds. Same day Consumer also publish “Mary’s” story, originally presented to the Select Committee by RVR in the Villageopoly game. Mary has been waiting over 9 months since leaving her villa to get her money back, and is facing an additional $60,000 in extra accrued DMF and weekly fee charges (plus interest) after exiting her unit. Over 13 media stories / channels pickup and run the story in what could be said as one of the biggest media frenzies involving Retirement Villages.

Sept 2022 - RVA releases it’s 9 points of ‘self-regulatory reform’ for trial by RVA members. Operators of 50 units or less are excluded from some of the remits, including the village Mary was in. RVR express disappointment in the apparent ‘window dressing’ approach.

Sept 2022 - RVR lodges a complaint with the Commerce Commission on unfair terms.

Oct 2022 - Select Committee requests further information on the RVR’s response to the Oct 2022 - RVR submits documentation supporting 6 widespread unfair clauses, plus another 11 potentially unfair.

Oct 2022 - RVR meets again with Ministry of Housing officials to confirm scoping of review will be completed before close of 2022.

Nov 2022 - RVR goes to print on it’s first ‘members’ magazine, in conjunction with ‘NZ’s Best’ Magazine.

What happens now?

1. We expect the scoping document to be published late Dec 2022 / Jan 2023.

2. A plan will be shared with RVR members to progress the review and communicate residents feedback at the start of 2023.

3. We need your support and continued membership for legislative change.