Retirement Village Law

We review the residence contract, the disclosure statement and the village rules, and explain how the contract treats: the ingoing contribution, ongoing recurrent charges, the deferred management fee (DMF) formula, sharing of capital gain or loss, refurbishment and reinstatement at the end of occupation, and the timing and quantum of the exit refund. We translate the contract into a clear picture of what the resident actually pays and receives, in year one, in year five and on exit.

DMF is usually the single largest cost of living in a village and is calculated very differently between operators. We model the DMF for the resident's likely period of occupation, identify caps and tapering provisions, and check the contract against the disclosure statement and the Act.

Disputes between residents (or estates) and operators commonly arise on exit — over refurbishment scope and cost, reinstatement obligations, the timing of the refund of the ingoing contribution and entitlement to capital gain. We resolve these disputes through direct negotiation with the operator, internal dispute resolution, VCAT applications, or court proceedings where the amount in dispute justifies it.

When a resident loses capacity or dies, families and executors face a particular set of issues — managing recurrent charges until the unit is sold, refurbishment standards, the operator's marketing efforts and the run-out of the refund timeline. We regularly act for estates in this position, in coordination with our probate and estates team.