Before you come to live in the retirement village you sign an Occupation Rights Agreement (ORA). This specifies the terms and conditions of your stay in the village. It describes the services available to you in the village. To help make this an easy transition, your village manager will be there to ensure you and your family feel comfortable when you settle into your new home.
Under our standard ORA:
- When you leave, your home will be marketed by the village manager. This assists a new occupant to be found for your villa or apartment.
- Bupa is responsible for marketing, so you and your family don't have to organise this. Bupa will pay all marketing and advertising costs. No sales commission is payable to us when a new occupant is found.
If you have purchased a cross lease title to a unit in our Remuera Retirement Village, you or your family are responsible for marketing and selling the unit at your own cost. There may be real estate agent’s commission payable.
Fees and costs
Amenities fee
The amenities fee represents a contribution towards the provision of accommodation and communal village facilities and buildings and is deducted when you leave the village.
What happens when I leave the village?
Bupa will market your home and on re-licensing, Bupa will refund the money you paid, minus the amenities fee and any other amounts owing. The Weekly fees stop when you terminate and vacate your home. Your capital is repaid when your unit is resold. If this doesn’t happen after six months we will pay interest on your exit entitlement. We are happy to provide more information about this and answer any questions you have.
Weekly fees
Residents pay a village weekly fee, monthly in advance, which is calculated as a proportion of the cost of the village outgoings. This includes the cost for:
- Land Rates
- Insurance (excluding your own personal belongings)
- Administration and management of the village
- Domestic rubbish removal
- Maintenance of village facilities, lawns, gardens, roadways, paths, the exteriors of villas/apartments, and all common areas
- Exterior window cleaning at least twice a year
- Security patrols
- Weekly transport for shopping
Please refer to the Occupation Right Agreement for full details. Each village is a little different and fees may vary slightly.
Your protection under the Retirement Villages Act 2003
For the protection of retirement village residents, all retirement villages are legally required to abide by the Retirement Villages Act 2003. As a result, there are many things that make many retirement villages similar. Talk to the village manager for more information.
Things you should expect from all retirement villages include:
• No hidden costs – all villages are required to be completely open and transparent about the costs you will incur.
• A cap on amenities/management fees – these cannot exceed the level at which they are declared on your contract.
• A “cooling off” period – this is the period where you can change your mind within 15 working days of signing an Occupation Right Agreement.
Protecting our residents
To make sure all of our residents enjoy village life, we run an annual Resident Satisfaction Survey to get direct feedback. We take this feedback seriously as we always look to improve village life for our residents.
Credentials
We're proud to be an active member of the Retirement Villages Association (RVA). The RVA is a national organisation that works to represent, protect and promote the interests of its members and associates. RVA requires Bupa to follow strict standards and guidelines in running our villages. To maintain membership, each village is audited by an independent agency.
All Bupa villages are accredited for three years following audits. Our goal is to ensure that we have well-run communities where you can benefit from our experience and skills.
To find out more refer to the Retirement Village Code of Practice on the RVA website.
Our Statutory Supervisor is Covenant Trustee Services Limited. Covenant Trustee Services Limited (Covenant) is a New Zealand based professional services firm that provides corporate trustee and statutory supervisor services to New Zealand business, charities and retirement villages.
Bupa is registered with the Electricity Authority as a retailer and a distributor and is also a member of the utilities dispute resolution scheme. If you would like any further information relating to our electricity supply or distribution, please contact the Village Manager.