Source: Retirement Villages’ Residents’ Council
The Retirement Villages’ Residents’ Council today congratulated Minister Tama Potaka for expediting regulatory and legislative changes to the Retirement Villages Act.
The Minister wrote to the Council today, and other key stakeholders, advising that he had, “… heard your collective desire for legislative and regulatory changes to be completed more quickly.” He said, ” … additional policy resources have been allocated to the Retirement Villages Act review to speed up the review timetable by around eight months.”
It is expected that a Bill could now be introduced in this term of Parliament.
Council spokesperson, Carol Shepherd said, “this latest announcement by the Minister, shows he is listening to residents. Good for him. The Council looks forward to working with the Government and other stakeholders on improvements to benefit residents and operators.”
The Council had been frustrated by the lengthy time the review was taking. It had long advocated for a speedy resolution of numerous issues confronting residents of retirement villages. They include a new dispute resolution scheme, stopping deferred maintenance payments when a resident exits a village, a fairer way to deal with chattels and a set time for repayment of capital.
About the Retirement Villages’ Residents’ Council
Who does the Council represent?
The Council is a fresh independent voice to advocate on behalf of retirement village residents.
Who are the Council members?
The Council currently has 7 members who were nominated by their villages and / or residents and selected by the independent chair. They reside in various retirement villages, both large and small, throughout the country and bring significant experience to the council, many having served or are serving on the residents committees of villages.
Why was the Council formed?
The Council aims to act as an independent body representing the interests of retirement village residents.
We acknowledge the good work done by the Retirement Villages Residents Association (RVRA) in representing residents. It is the largest residents’ membership association in New Zealand. But we also note that only one in five residents belong to this association. The Council is not a membership organisation and does not compete with the RVRA. But we believe there is room for another organisation that can be an additional voice for the concerns of residents. In particular, the council aims to represent their views to policy-makers. Often those views will align with the RVRA. Sometimes they will differ.
How is the Council independent when funded by operators?
The Council is funded by the Retirement Villages Association (RVA), which represents most of the operators, developers and managers of retirement villages throughout New Zealand. However, the RVA has no say in anything that the Council does, including its views on policies or how it spends its budget. It does not attend meetings, does not receive agendas or minutes and has no influence over how the Council’s budget is applied. This independence is underpinned by the Council’s terms of reference.