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Avoiding an agreement

This occurs where a breach of pre-contractual obligations under the Act enables a resident to cancel an agreement.

Complaints facility

Every village operator must set up a complaints facility for the village - that is, a process for dealing with complaints from residents, whether about the operator or about other residents.

Cooling-off period

The Retirement Villages Act gives a person who has signed an occupation right agreement 15 working days in which they can change their minds and cancel the agreement, without having to give any reason.

People also have the right to cancel the agreement for delay if the unit is not completed six months after the proposed completion date. They can cancel at any time after this period.

Any extensions an operator offers to either of these periods must be in the disclosure statement.

Deed of supervision

Statutory supervisors must enter into a deed of supervision with the operator. This covers the supervisor's duties and responsibilities and the operator's obligations. The Retirement Villages (General) Regulations set out the details required in the deed. In many villages a memorandum of encumbrance will be registered over the village's certificates of title to give a more formal impact to deeds of supervision. Some deeds of supervision will also specify requirements to be included in village disclosure statements.

Disclosure statement

Before an intending resident signs an occupation right agreement with a retirement village, the operator must give them a "disclosure statement" that contains all the information required by the Act about the nature of the village and the rights and obligations of the resident and the operator.

Schedule 2 of the Act and the Retirement Villages (General) Regulations set out the details required in the statement. The disclosure statement must be given with copies of the occupation right agreement, the Code of Residents' Rights and the Code of Practice.

Dispute notice

A resident or operator wanting to use the disputes process in the Act starts the process by giving the other party a written "dispute notice". This gives details of the dispute and what's been done so far to try to resolve it. A form that can be used for this is here.

Disputes panel

Within 20 working days of a dispute notice being given, the village operator appoints one or more members of a disputes panel.  They are chosen from a pool of independent people approved by the Retirement Commissioner. For disputes about sales after leaving a village, the panel must have at least three members, chaired by a retired judge or experienced lawyer (there are indicated on the Retirement Commissioner's approved list).

Facilities

This means shared or communal facilities or amenities provided in the village for residents, including recreational facilities. These might be lounges, libraries, swimming pools, and crafts and activities areas.

Intending resident

The Act gives important protections to "intending residents". This is someone who:

• in the last three months has talked with a retirement village operator or their agent about entering into an occupation right agreement, or indicated to them that they're interested in becoming a resident, and
• has given their contact details to the operator or agent.

Memorial This is placed on a village's certificates of title by the Registrar-General of Lands to confirm that the village is registered under the Act. A memorial protects residents from any mortgagee sale, liquidation or receivership, in that their occupation right agreement will continue and the resident will continue to receive the protections of the Act.

Occupation right agreement

This is the written agreement between a resident and the village operator that gives the resident the right to live in the village. It may consist of more than one document. Schedule 3 of the Act sets out what must be covered. An independent lawyer must explain the general effect and implications of the agreement before an intending resident signs it.

Register of Retirement Villages

All retirement villages must be registered with the Registrar of Retirement Villages in the Companies Office, which is part of the Ministry of Economic Development. The requirements for registration are set out in Part 2 and Schedule 1 of the Act and the Retirement Villages (General) Regulations, which include the required forms. The Retirement Villages (Fees) Regulations set out the required fees for initial registration, annual returns and other matters.

Resident

The protections for "residents" in the Retirement Villages Act apply to:

• anyone who enters into an occupation right agreement with a retirement village operator
• anyone who's entitled under an agreement to live in a unit in the village (even if the agreement wasn't made with that person)
• a spouse or partner who is living in a unit with someone who's entitled under an agreement to live there, or who is living in it after that person has died or left the village (as long as the agreement or the operator allows it).

For complaints and disputes, a "resident" includes a former resident (or their estate) who was living in a retirement village on or after 1 February 2004 and whose occupation right agreement has since terminated.

Retirement village

A "retirement village" covered by the Act consists of two or more residential units (including in rest homes or hospital care facilities) that are intended to provide accommodation together with services or facilities predominantly to retired people and their spouses or partners, in return for capital sums.

Services

This means one or more of the following kinds of services provided at a retirement village:

• gardening, repair or maintenance services
• nursing or medical services
• meals
• shops and services for providing goods
• laundry services
• hairdressing and other personal care services
• transport
• recreation and entertainment
• security services
• other services for the care or benefit of residents.

Statutory supervisor
Every retirement village must have a statutory supervisor (unless the village is exempted) to oversee whether the village is operating according to the law. The supervisor monitors the village's financial position and reports annually to the Registrar of Retirement Villages and to the residents.

The statutory supervisor is appointed by the operator of the village from a pool of people approved by the Registrar (or, for existing villages, by the Securities Commission). They are appointed under a deed of supervision that sets out the terms and conditions of their role.

If the supervisor is concerned about the village's financial position, the security of the residents' interests or the management of the village, it can require the operator to operate the village in a particular way and to give the residents particular information.