Retirement village contracts are quite different from residential property contracts. Here’s how they compare:
A retirement village contract is more about lifestyle than investment. It prioritises comfort, community, and support over financial return.
A residential contract covers buying a home. A retirement village contract covers much more – it includes the cost of your new home, what happens while you live in the village and what happens when you leave.
With a regular home, you usually own the property outright. In a retirement village, you most commonly have the right to live in the property (through a lease, license or loan usually for 99 years).
Retirement village contracts include access to amenities and services tailored for older Australians – like gardens and social, sport and recreational amenities. Residential contracts usually only cover the purchase of a home.
In a retirement village, you pay regular fees to help maintain shared amenities and services. There is also a management fee when you leave. These fees help maintain shared amenities and pay for the village team, ensuring a consistently high standard of living for all residents.
With a regular home, you pay for things like stamp duty, council rates, utilities, and maintenance.
Retirement village contracts are covered by specific laws (like the Retirement Villages Act in each state) that offer protections – such as clear fee disclosures, cooling-off periods, and rules about service charges.
Residential contracts follow general property law.
While moving into a retirement village may not offer the same potential for financial growth like other properties, they offer many lifestyle benefits like less maintenance, more social connection, and easier access to activities, services and support.
There are three main types of retirement village contracts: leasehold, licence and strata title.
The most common types – available in most RetireAustralia villages – are lease and licensee, where your entry payment gives you the right to live in your home. With this type of contract, you don’t pay
In strata title villages – available in some RetireAustralia’s villages – you own your home plus a portion of the community facilities and pay stamp duty and ongoing strata fees.
