Government must act now to protect retirement village residents from exploitation and eviction, according to Housing for the Aged Action Group.

A series of stories published by the ABC this week highlighted unfair fees, confusing contracts and poor treatment of residents living in retirement villages.

“The shocking mistreatment of our client Maurine in her retirement village is an example of widespread and systemic problems in retirement villages, caused by a lack of adequate consumer protections and regulation,” said Housing for the Aged Action Group Executive Officer Fiona York.

“Retirement villages make most of their profits when residents leave, and that creates a perverse incentive for villages to get residents out when the exit fee reaches it maximum. There are not enough protections for residents against evictions in retirement villages.”

“In addition, exit fees make it very difficult for older people who have purchased homes in these communities to leave if they want to. We hear from residents all the time that their villages are being so badly mismanaged, or they are being so badly treated, that they want to leave. But exit fees make that impossible.”

“Contracts are often complicated and one-sided documents that don’t protect residents rights. Even though by law, villages are required to provide disclosure statements, the complexity of fee structures make it very difficult to compare different villages or understand their real costs.”

“Retirement villages are an attractive option for many older people who want to downsize and live in a community with a sense of security. They should be part of a solution to the housing crisis for older people. But we’re seeing unscrupulous operators taking advantage of older people, and even villages who want to do the right thing can fall into the same unfair business practices that plague the sector.”

“The government has a great opportunity right now to fix some of these issues. They have been reviewing the Retirement Villages Act for over five years, and plan to introduce amendments this year. It’s vitally important that these amendments address community concerns, so that residents who want to leave can leave, those who want to stay can stay, and the costs that they pay are fair and transparent.”

Housing for the Aged Action Group is calling on the Victorian Government to introduce six measures to protect older people in retirement housing from exploitation and abuse:

1. Establish a retirement housing ombudsman that would provide free, fair and binding dispute resolution.
2. Put a stop to unfair fees that are frequently opaque and trap people in badly run villages.
3. Address complex and ambiguous contracts
4. Introduce training and accreditation standards for retirement village managers bringing them in line with what is expected of residential real estate property managers.
5. Protect residents’ right to sell.
6. Involve residents in any reform process.