By Hess Chung - 3 Feb 2017
Those living in (or considering) a retirement village may have
been disturbed by a recent NZ Herald article on the subject. It
highlighted a series of leaky buildings that have been discovered
in otherwise well-regarded retirement villages across the
country.
The practices that contributed to New Zealand's leaky building
crisis (inappropriate design, faulty materials and inadequate
council oversight to name a few) are not limited to buildings older
than ten years and continue to be found in all kinds of housing
developments.
In this case, village management were able to relocate all the
affected elderly residents while they dealt with the issue.
Undoubtedly this disruption caused distress and inconvenience for
those removed from their homes with little notice.
As with all real estate transactions, it's important to
understand your legal rights and obligations.
Knowing what should happen before there is a problem will give
you and your family peace of mind.
Your retirement village contract should include an occupation
agreement that can give you options if your unit is either damaged
or destroyed. Also working in your favour is the Retirement
Villages Act 2003, which states that occupation agreements must
contain provisions in relation to the resident or the operator's
termination rights.
If you would like assistance with understanding and clarifying
your rights in relation to a retirement village occupation
agreement, please contact Hess Chung.