Fair repayment for retirement village residents

No one should be left waiting for their own money. Join our fight for fast and fair repayment within three months. 

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Help protect our elders

If you leave a retirement village, is it fair to wait years to get your own money back?

That’s exactly what’s happening right now. Incredibly, there’s no law setting a repayment deadline. These delays are costing residents and their families a heap of time, money, and stress.

Help us fight for fast and fair repayment within three months. See what we're calling for.

Please sign and share our petition today.  

What's happening

Retirement village residents often pay big money (around $700,000 on average) to live in a village. When they leave, they get the money back – minus a management fee of up to 30%.  

But the resident (or their estate) doesn’t get their money until the unit is relicensed, and that process is controlled by the village. This means people can wait years to get their money back.  

Right now, there’s no law that says how quickly villages must pay back residents. The government has proposed a 12-month deadline, but that’s too long. It’s not good enough. 

What we are calling for

We want new laws requiring: 

  • full repayment of residents’ money within 3 months of the agreement ending  
  • an interim payment of 10% or $50,000 (whichever is higher) within 5 working days of the agreement ending 
  • interest on late repayments 
  • public disclosure of repayment time frames, so residents know what to expect before they move in. 

The new rules should apply to all 55,000 current residents, not just future residents, so current occupants aren’t disadvantaged.  

Villages that are facing genuine financial constraints could apply for extensions, and those that share at least half of any capital gains on units with residents would be exempt from the repayment rules. 

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New Zealanders want change

New Zealanders strongly support faster repayment for residents who are leaving retirement villages. Our research shows: 

  • 84% of New Zealanders support the introduction of rules requiring retirement villages to repay residents within a fixed time frame 
  • 83% of New Zealanders believe residents should get their money back within 3 months or less 
  • more than 80% of New Zealanders think the new rules should apply to both current and future residents. 

Barbara waited more than 2 years to get her own money back

After debilitating falls and a devastating cancer diagnosis, Barbara left her retirement village and moved to the rest home next door. She thought the village would return her money straight away – but it didn’t. Over a year later, when Barbara wanted to move out of her rest home and closer to whānau, she had to do it without her money. 

“I had to figure out how I could afford the costs of making it back home,” she said. 

While the village held on to her money, Barbara struggled. The medical bills piled up, and stress mounted. Barbara was forced to wait more than 2 years to get back her own money. 

No one should have to go through this – that’s why the law must change. 

Sign the petition