Retirement Housing

Retirement Village Reform Consultation Working

14 Apr 2021

The Victorian Government is releasing its long-awaited Options Paper, outlining ideas for reforms to the Retirement Villages Act. HAAG will be making a submission about what our members and clients want and need from this review, and we invite members who live in retirement villages to share their ideas and priorities.

Coolah Home Base: Building on Uncertain Foundations

28 Oct 2020

Maximum prices for embedded networks and other exempt sellers Draft Decision feedback

Our clients who live in retirement housing options and receive their energy via an embedded network report concerns with exempt sellers over-charging them for their usage. Our clients often experience a digital divide in accessing adequate information, and commonly express a fear of speaking out and asserting their rights due to fear of negative consequences from management.

This feedback was provided to the Essential Service Commission’s (ESC) Maximum prices for embedded networks and other exempt sellers Draft Decision.

Read the feedback here

Retirement Housing during coronavirus - updated factsheet

Many retirement housing residents have questions about their rights in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, so we put this factsheet together to answer some of the most common ones.

Coronavirus and Retirement Housing - Residents questions anwered

Many retirement village residents have questions about their rights in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, so we put this factsheet together to answer some of the most common ones.

Courts out on COVID evictions

Sarah (not her real name) is in her early 60s and resides in a small retirement village. Sarah fell into arrears and received a notice terminating (or purporting to terminate) her residency right as of last week.

Response to the Regulatory Impact Statement for the proposed Residential Tenancies Regulations 2020

Older renters are a key demographic when it comes to rental reform. People over 55 make up the fastest growing segment of the private rental market, a major and growing proportion of social housing tenants, and a key cohort for caravan and residential parks. The government has recognised the needs of older renters as a key concern of the RTA review from the Laying the Groundwork paper onwards. Existing transitional provisions specify certain rental reforms – such as minimum standards – that will only apply to new fixed term or periodic agreements entered into after July 2020. We are concerned this will tend to disproportionately disadvantage older renters.

Read our submission here

Residential Tenancies Act - Regulations - Submission Dec 2019

Housing for the Aged Action Group submission in response to the Regulatory Impact Statement for the proposed Residential Tenancies Regulations 2020

Download

Maryanne's Deferred Management Fee Nightmare

Maryanne (not her real name) lived happily in a retirement village for over ten years. She was in her mid 80s when construction work in a common area above her unit disrupted a drain above her library, causing serious flooding during heavy rain.

Response to the ‘Review of the Retirement Villages Act 1986’ Issues Paper

This joint submission with Consumer Action Law Center focuses on five key areas that have emerged as central to retirement village reform in our casework and in feedback from our members: resident rights, contractual complexity, unfair fees, management standards, and dispute resolution. The case study illustrates the ways these issues are connected and compound each other to the detriment of retirement village residents.

Read the Submission