Seniors deserve better housing options

The housing crisis is affecting Australians of all generations, but it’s hitting seniors especially hard. 

While some are struggling to find suitable, long-term rental accommodation in a market where rents are rising, others find themselves in homes that are too big or otherwise no longer fit for purpose.  

For many, retirement villages have seemed to be the perfect solution, offering security, peace of mind, and a relaxed, enjoyable lifestyle. 

However, in line with National Seniors Australia’s (NSA) long-held concerns, recent reports on the ABC have highlighted pitfalls for people who sign up for retirement villages without fully understanding the product being offered. 

Their complaints range from long and complicated contracts to high exit and refurbishment fees, and punitive rules and regulations. 

Some contracts are up to 149 pages long and are written in complex language. They often include a “deferred management fee” upon exit, which can be as much as 35% of the purchase price. 

On top of this fee, residents or their families are often required to pay for refurbishment of their home. 

Residents caught in this situation can be left with less money when exiting and find themselves unable to afford the standard of aged care they expected. 

One resident told the ABC she bought into a retirement village 11 years ago for $384,000 but will leave with just $81,000 after the operator deducts its fees. Another said she lost $130,000 out of the $365,000 she paid to enter a village. 

Leanne Gundry, whose mother has recently moved from a retirement home into aged care, is among family members calling for greater transparency in retirement village contracts. 

“Like you have ‘smoking’s dangerous for health’, you should have a financial health warning on any sort of a residential village contract,” she told the ABC. 

Daniel Gannon, the executive director of lobby group, Retirement Living Council, said the sector had worked for years to have the size of contracts slashed but admitted there was “a bit more work to do”. 

“Some operators have reduced their contract sizes by up to 30% [but] there is still way too much complexity in these contracts,” he said. 

Other residents have complained about the way retirement villages control their lives, from limiting the time guests can stay with them to dictating whether they can have a pet. 

Long-term residents of one facility on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast were told in August they would lose access to services, including meals, in-room emergency calls, laundry, community social bus, and lifestyle program as the village transitioned to rental-only accommodation. 

The residents were on a variety of leasehold arrangements. Those with 99-year leases who believed they would be able to remain for life may find themselves having to move. 

Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, said tougher regulations for retirement villages were on the agenda for a meeting of state and territory consumer ministers in December. 

“There clearly needs to be a significant improvement in the conduct of retirement village operators,” he said. 

“We will consider the best pathway forward in consultation with the states. We want all Australians to retire with dignity.” 

Independent South Australian MP Rebekha Sharkie, who has been calling for a crackdown on retirement villages for 18 months, has described the contracts and fees as “corporatised elder abuse”. 

“Retirement village residents have been waiting years, so we need urgent action not just an agenda item that gets pushed back again,” she said.