New HAAG chair Phyll Williams talks about the biggest issues in older people's housing, and her vision and goals for the future. If you want to get in touch you can call us on (03) 9654 7389.
Four corners ran a fantastic episode last night on dodgy retirement housing opporator AVEO, and other articles have recently been published that expose many of the problems residents of retirement housing have been facing for a long time – complicated contracts, unfair fees and issues with management. Unfortunately, these are not isolated problems with one operator, they occur across the whole of the retirement housing industry, and we must continnue to push for reform.
Despite a groundswell of complaints, problems in retirement villages remain rife, particularly at Aveo, where even the savviest customers can end up defeated. So who’s in charge of the sector and how accountable are they?
"Its slick marketing promises a safe and sound place to live yet retirement village operator Aveo is making a fortune by ripping off Australians through complex contracts and eye-watering exit fees"...
The latest Rental Affordability Index found that pensioners are being priced out of the rental market. No surprise to HAAG members who have been feeling the rental squeeze for many years.
"Across the nation, the single pensioner household is facing Severely Unaffordable and Extremely unaffordable rents. For the most part, locating in metropolitan areas (which is where one bedroom dwellings are generally available) would require 60 per cent or more of the pensioner’s income to be spent on rent.
Housing pressures on this household type would also be compounded by a number of other pressures, including health care costs associated with aging".
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."