Residents in the ACT’s 30-plus villages will now be able to approve any fee increases – and manage disputes more easily – thanks to the new Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2016.
Designed to benefit both residents and operators, the changes follow a review into the current Act that included the Property Council, ACT Retirement Village Residents Association and COTA.
Operators will have to ask residents for approval on their operating budgets and any increase in regular charges – ensuring residents are not hit with any ‘surprise’ fee jumps.
Previously, villages’ operating budgets and increases in fees were linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Operators did not have to check with residents to increase fees if they were at or below CPI, often leading to friction between residents and operators.
Cutting conflict between residents and managers
The new Act also sees the re-introduction of disputes committees. These must include one member appointed by the residents, one appointed by the operator and a mutually agreed chair.
Before the changes, there was no step between a resident raising an issue with management and going straight to the ACT’s Administrative and Civil Tribunal (ACAT).
This should allow any issues to be resolved more quickly – instead of being dragged out for years in the tribunal like this story we reported on here.
So will the other states follow suit? Only time will tell.
