Recent changes to Retirement Village Legislation Thursday 14 June Presented by Helen Kay, Associate Director Corporate and Commercial

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1 Recent changes to Retirement Village Legislation Thursday 14 June 2018 Presented by Helen Kay, Associate Director Corporate and Commercial

2 Qld retirement village legislation changes The Housing Legislation (Building Better Futures) Amendment Act 2017 was passed by Parliament on 25 October 2017 and assented to on 10 November 2017 Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 2

3 Changes that commenced on 10 November 2017 Behavioural standards o Prescribed behaviour standards for residents and operators (and their staff) including: an operator must take reasonable steps to ensure a resident does not interfere with the reasonable privacy of another resident an operator must give a written response within 21 days of receiving a written complaint, proposal or question from a resident or former resident (or their representative) Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 3

4 Changes that commenced on 10 November 2017 cont. Exit entitlement payout o Operators are required to pay residents their exit entitlement 18 months after the residence contract is terminated o This change will apply to new and existing residence contracts o If the parties do not agree on the resale value, the operator must obtain a valuation not more than 14 days before the payment date Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 4

5 Further changes New Village Comparison Document (VCD) replace the current public information document (PID) New Prospective Costs Document for the Residence Contract summary of the estimated costs of moving in, living in and leaving the village New Unit Condition Reports operators and residents to complete condition reports on units at both commencement and termination of residence contracts Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 5

6 Further changes cont. Entry into residence contracts o Operators must not enter into a residence contract with a resident until 21 days after the operator has given the prospective resident the documents o A prospective resident may sign a residence contract less than 21 days after receiving the documents if they have signed a waiver o No change in cooling off period Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 6

7 Further changes cont. New unit reinstatement and unit renovation processes o Operator may carry out reinstatement work and claim the cost from the resident New unit valuation requirements o Submissions about the valuation of the resale value of the unit to the valuer Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 7

8 Further changes cont. New Approved Forms Village Comparison Document Prospective Costs Document Unit Condition Reports Residence Contract Waiver - for the 21 day waiting period before entering the residence contract Residents Meeting Notices for redevelopment/closure of a Village Redevelopment Plan Proposed Village Closure Notice Closure Plan Proposed Transfer of Village s Operation Notice Transition Plan for transfer of village s operation Notices of Discontinuation of Village Redevelopment/Closure/Transfer Maintenance Reserve Fund Budget Capital Replacement Fund Budget General Services Charges Budget Quarterly/Annual Financial Statements Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 8

9 Further changes cont. New requirements on operators for redevelopment/closure of a Village o Before an operator commences the redevelopment or closure of a Village, the operator must obtain approval for their redevelopment/closure plan: by special resolution or by application to the Department of Housing and Public Works o The Department must within 90 days of receipt of the application approve the plan or give the operator a direction to take action to revise the plan o The redevelopment requirements set out above do not apply if all residents were given notice of the proposal to redevelop before they became a resident Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 9

10 Further changes cont. New requirements on operators for transfer/sale of a Village o An operator must give the Department notice of a proposed transfer of control of a Village s operation and obtain the approval of a transition plan o The Department may approve a plan only if it is satisfied the plan provides for a clear, orderly and fair process for transitioning control of the Village s operation Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 10

11 Implementation timetable for the remaining changes to the RV Act (Qld) Stage 1: o Pre-contractual disclosure o Access to documents o Reinstatement of units Consultation between May 2018 and June 2018 Implementation between August 2018 and October 2018 Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 11

12 Implementation timetable for the remaining changes to the RV Act (Qld) cont. Stage 2 : o Change in village operations o Retirement village contracts Consultation on Stage 2 between October 2018 and December Implementation of Stage 2 between April 2019 and June 2019 Stage 3 involves consultation on the amendments relating to standard financial reports and budgets Consultation on Stage 3 between April 2019 and August 2019 Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 12

13 Release of draft documents Entry Condition Report Exit Condition Report Pre-contractual Disclosure Waiver Village Comparison Document Prospective Costs Documents Guidelines for operators to complete the Village Comparison Document and Prospective Costs Document Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 13

14 Victorian retirement village legislation changes The Retirement Villages (Contractual Arrangements) Regulations 2017 commenced on 30 July 2017 replaced the previous Retirement Villages (Contractual Arrangements) Regulations 2006 Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 14

15 Victorian retirement village legislation changes cont. how outgoing residents' aged care accommodation payments are made: o require the retirement village operator to provide financial assistance to the resident o residence contracts are differentiated in terms of the operator s payment obligations for existing contracts, village owners may have to advance up to 85% of a resident s estimated refundable ingoing contribution by way of a residential accommodation deposit ( RAD ) or daily accommodation payments ( DAP ) for new contracts, village owners may have to advance up to 85% of a resident s estimated refundable ingoing contribution by way of DAP only o independent valuation Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 15

16 NSW retirement village legislation changes The Retirement Villages Regulation 2017 (the Regulation) commenced on 1 September 2017 and replaced the Retirement Villages Regulation 2009 key changes: o copies of a village's insurance documents be available to residents o a new 'average resident comparison figure' to be included in the Disclosure Statement from 1 March 2018 o reducing the maximum amount payable by a resident for an operator s legal and other expenses (for the preparation of a village contract) from $200 to $50 Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 16

17 NSW retirement village legislation changes cont. o adding new matters for which village rules can be created, including: smoking, use of motorised wheelchairs security in the retirement village external appearance of residents premises speed limits within the village o requiring clearer information in annual budgets around head office expenses o lowering the maximum amount that may be allocated for contingencies in a proposed annual budget to $1 Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 17

18 NSW retirement village legislation changes cont. o extending the list of items that cannot be financed by recurrent charges o simplifying the process for allowing residents to hold office on a residents committee for longer than three years o allowing service of documents by the operator or resident by if the person has agreed to notices or documents being given by Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 18

19 Thank you CONTACT Helen Kay, Associate Director Recent changes to NSW, Vic and Qld Retirement Village Legislation 19