Review of the Retirement Villages Act 2003
In 2023, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, working in partnership with the retirement sector, began a review of the Retirement Villages Act.
The Retirement Commissioner first called for a review of the legislation following the release of her white paper published in 2020 and the response to submissions received in 2021. The then Associate Minister of Housing and Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) accepted the recommendation that a full review was overdue. HUD subsequently issued a discussion paper in 2023, which received more than 11,000 submissions: Review of the Retirement Villages Act 2003: Options for change, Discussion Document.
In 2024, the Government decided to take a more focused approach to progressing the review of the Retirement Villages Act. The review is proceeding based on changes that are broadly supported by the retirement sector and that are priorities for residents. It’s focusing on three key areas:
- Maintenance and repairs of operator-owned chattels and fixtures
- Complaints and disputes
- Options for incentivising or requiring earlier capital repayments when residents move out of a village.
The more focused approach means that some topics in the 2023 discussion paper that have less of an effect on residents or are too complex to progress are now out of scope. These include introducing minimum building standards and additional monitoring and compliance requirements by government agencies.
Earlier this year, the Government announced its intention to bring forward the timeline for the review of the Retirement Villages Act. Cabinet’s decisions on any legislative changes are now expected to be made between November and December 2025, with legislative amendments potentially to follow in mid to late 2026.
The Retirement Commissioner monitors the effects of the Retirement Villages Act 2003
An independent monitoring programme began in 2008, with reports on the following focus areas:
- 2024-25 Retirement Villages Complaints and Disputes Resolution Scheme: Report and Scheme Recommendation
- 2023-24 Retirement Villages: International Scan of Operating Models
- 2022-23 The experience of residents and their whānau
when a resident moves on from (or within) a retirement village - 2021-22: Occupation Right Agreement
- 2020-21: Retirement Villages Legislative Framework
- 2019-20: Operator financial assistance to residents
- 2018-19: The interface of Retirement Villages and Aged Care
- 2017–18: The effectiveness of statutory supervision
- 2016–17: The effectiveness of independent legal advice
- 2014–15: The disputes process
- 2011: Residents
- 2010: Owner-operators
- 2009: Statutory supervisors
Complaint data
Since 1 April 2017 the Commissioner receives six-monthly reports from operators of all registered retirement villages about any formal complaints they have received in the preceding six-month period. Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission collects this information as part of its monitoring function under the Retirement Villages Act.
Each operator reports about the number of formal complaints during the six-month period, classification, resolution rate and information about the outcome. The operator also reports how many formal complaints were referred to either a statutory supervisor or mediator.
The Commissioner uses this information to monitor trends and any concerns or issues in the industry and to inform the minister. Te Ara Ahunga Ora publishes a summary of the information received but does not publish the identity of any complainant or village involved in a complaint.