It is clear the contracts that many retirement village operators ask residents to sign need to be more transparent.
It is even more clear that the offending village operators need to do something about it now. If they don’t, State Governments will and then we will hear the squeals.
The South Australian Government has released 60 proposed changes to the Retirement Villages Act 2016 that aim to make contracts, exit fees and re-marketing rules clearer. It will demand a far better disclosure of information to prospective residents.
COTA SA chief executive Miranda Starke said greater transparency around signing contracts is vital as many “moving into a retirement village do not understand the contract they have entered into with the operator and that’s concerning.”
The sector is in the midst of an ageing population, with aged care on the nose to most people. This should be a boom time.
If claims that residents, or their families, are being made to pay thousands of dollars to operators when their homes are sold, are repeated time and time again, be ready to see the boom threaten to bust.
With Retirement Village Acts in Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia also under review, there has never been a better time for operators to lift their game.
