Village management

The ways in which retirement villages are owned and managed vary. They may be commercial or not-for-profit. They can be owned by companies, charitable or religious trusts, local authorities, partnerships or individuals. Some villages have managers who live in the village, while others do not.

It's important to find out how a village is managed, and to make sure you're satisfied that it's managed well. You might want to find out whether the village is a member of the Retirement Villages Association or HealthCare Providers New Zealand and what benefits these provide. When considering the management of a village, you should find out about:

• Management agreements
• The statutory supervisor
• Village rules
• Resident involvement
• Complaints

Management agreements

Many villages have management agreements to cover the village's day-to-day operations. Some of these are long-term contracts. Often the owner has a manager who looks after the village's day-to-day operations, while in other cases the owner is also the manager.

Find out who appoints the manager, if there is a management agreement, how long it's for and what management fees you pay.

The statutory supervisor

While many villages already have statutory supervisors, all villages will be required to have a statutory supervisor unless exempted once the Act comes fully into force.

The statutory supervisor is usually a trustee company. Its role is to act on behalf of the residents of a village to monitor its financial operation, and to make sure it complies with the law.

You'll find contact details for the statutory supervisor in your Code of Residents' Rights. For more information about the statutory supervisor, read the Guide to the Act.

Village rules

Many villages have rules that cover anything from visitors and pets to parking, curfews, redecoration or additions to your unit, renting your unit, gardening and whether or not you're allowed to operate a business from the village. Ask for a copy of the rules. Then find out who sets them and whether they can change. Some villages will include the rules in the occupation right agreement.

Resident involvement

In some villages, residents will be quite involved in how their village is run, while in others, residents may have little or no involvement in the day-to-day running of the place. You might want to ask whether there is a residents' committee and what it does. Find out how often residents meet with village management, and if there is a newsletter. It's worth asking residents about how involved they are in running the village, and how management responds to their involvement.

Complaints

Ask the village manager about how they handle complaints. All villages must provide a facility for handling complaints. There's help to be found outside the village too - disputes that are not resolved within the village can go to an independent disputes panel.

For more information about complaints processes, read the Guide to the Act and the Complaints and Disputes pages.