The Green Party is welcoming a review announced today of the Retirement Villages Act, and is urging the Government to make sure voices and rights of residents are emphasised more than industry.
"Every person deserves to have access to decent housing, including in their final decades of life. Successive governments have enabled an aggressive for-profit model which dominates many retirement villages. This has failed to centre the wellbeing of residents who do not have the same rights as tenants and we need to do better," says Green Party senior citizens spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March.
"Recently, residents have highlighted the lack of access to getting back their deposits when they leave their residence, unclear contracts that trap them in unfair deals, and poor quality of facilities.
"Residents are currently required to continue paying for their accommodation when they leave until the Retirement Village is able to relicense it.
"This is something that puts people in hardship is not the case with any other type of housing arrangement. It's time to grant retirement village residents the right to secure tenure and a right to a warm, dry, accessible home.
"What is missing from this review is ensuring retirement villages provide affordable accommodation.
"The Greens believe that because the private sector will not voluntarily deliver secure, affordable housing we need stronger regulations to ensure retirement villages provide at least 25% of their units as affordable rentals
"For the Retirement Villages Act Review to work the Government must centre the voices of residents," says Ricardo Menéndez March.
