Retirement Housing

Parity Article: How to improve and protect the rights of older people living in retirement housing

The power imbalance between tenant and landlord in Australia in 2024 is well known. But for people living in retirement housing there is often an even greater power imbalance between them and their housing provider.

Read the article from Parity here

Overcoming bullies in Retirement Villages

Mary* is a HAAG member living in a retirement village in the west of Melbourne. She’s lived there since 2018, and enjoyed a couple of good years there before a new manager named Dean* started there in late 2019. Mary soon noticed tensions developing between her and Dean, but within a year these had erupted into outright harassment and bullying by the manager.

Statements and Rants

27 Sep 2023

In a special double-Fiona episode, Shane and Fiona are joined by Fiona 2.0 to discuss some events HAAG is running as part of this year's Seniors Festival - retirement housing, quilting and more. Then we talk about the Andrews Government's recent Housing Statement, including some faint praise and a short list of okay announcements before we get to the really bad stuff in this garbage bag of antisocial policies.

Listen in on 3cr.org.au

Preventing Homelessness among Older Women Research Project: Round Table Discussion

25 Oct 2023

Join the Eastern Affordable Housing Alliance for an optimistic and engaging discussion about solutions to older women’s homelessness in Melbourne’s eastern region.
Can retirement villages and Independent Living Units can support older women at risk of homelessness? How we can tap into under-utilised buildings and homes to unlock much-needed housing supply? Join the discussions at Maroondah Federation Estate in Ringwood

Online Retirement Housing Information Session

24 Oct 2023

If you, a friend, a family member or a client are looking into a retirement village, a lifestyle park, a rental village, a residential park or a caravan park come along for a general understanding of the different housing types, their pros and cons and their similarities and differences. The presentation will also cover information on where you can go for assistance if you are a retirement housing residence who needs support, information or advice. It will also discuss campaigning in the retirement housing sector, and how to become a member of one of our action groups to change the system!

Residential Parks – Falling Through the Gaps

Residential parks suffer from numerous significant, systemic and overlapping issues, so HAAG proposes a six-pronged strategy to address these issues.

Read the briefing note

HAAG's Services Brochure

We all need secure and affordable housing to be safe and healthy as we age. That’s why we provide support for older people experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness, advice for people in Retirement Housing, connect older people with Aged Care, and advocate for older people’s housing. Download our brochure about all the services we provide

24 months in a leaky house!

Sally is a woman in her 70’s living in a retirement village in Victoria’s North. Sally contacted HAAG’s Retirement Housing Advice Service (RHAS) in late 2021 after 18 months of attempting to resolve an issue with her leaking roof by herself. Sally originally reported to management her roof was leaking in 2020 after she noticed that her ceiling was damp, and water stained.

A light shining brightly in this dark modern world

Trevor was referred to our service by the local crisis homelessness service Beyond Housing in December, after he had received an eviction notice due to the landlord wanting to sell. He had until 26 February to find housing, and wanted to move closer to his support networks and medical services in the Yarra Ranges.

Residential parks roundtable: summary report

In August 2022, the Residential Tenancies Commissioner and HAAG co-hosted a residential parks roundtable (the roundtable) to hear from residents in Victoria about their experiences of living in residential parks. Approximately 70 residents from residential parks across Victoria joined the meeting, which was co-chaired by the Commissioner and HAAG’s Executive Officer. Staff from HAAG, the Department of Justice and Community Safety, and the Office of the Commissioner for Senior Victorians assisted with note taking and facilitating breakout discussions.

Read the report