Retirement village contract review checklist
Retirement village contracts are governed by state-based retirement villages legislation. They contain substantial ingoing and exit costs that must be explained carefully. This checklist is for lawyers advising incoming residents.
This is a 12-step checklist for reviewing a retirement village contract. It covers disclosure, ingoing contribution, ongoing fees, deferred management fee, and exit terms.
The checklist
Identify the tenure type
Identify whether the resident holds strata title, lease, licence, or loan-lease arrangement.
Review disclosure statement
Review the prescribed disclosure statement and general inquiry document.
Check ingoing contribution
Confirm ingoing contribution, deposit structure, and refund timing.
Check ongoing fees
Review recurring fees — general services charge, maintenance, utilities.
Check deferred management fee
Calculate the DMF scale — typical 20-40% over 5-10 years of occupation.
Check capital gain/loss sharing
Confirm how capital gain or loss on resale is apportioned.
Review refurbishment obligations
Check resident responsibility for refurbishment costs at exit.
Check exit refund timing
Confirm maximum statutory timing for ingoing contribution refund after exit.
Review village rules
Review village rules covering pets, guests, parking, and facility use.
Check aged care integration
Check whether the village integrates with aged care and priority access rights.
Advise on cooling-off
Explain the statutory cooling-off period after signing.
Brief client on exit scenarios
Walk client through worst-case exit cost scenarios before signing.
When this checklist applies
Use when advising a new resident entering a retirement village contract.
Common pitfalls
- DMF calculation not fully explained
- Exit refund timing missed
- Capital gain/loss sharing unclear
- Refurbishment liability overlooked
- Ongoing fee escalation terms not explained
Run this checklist on a real matter
Quillio can review a retirement village contract, extract DMF terms, and prepare a client briefing. See /practice-areas/property-lawyers or start a free trial.
General guidance for retirement village contract reviews. Adapt to the relevant state retirement villages legislation.
Use this checklist on your matter.
Quillio can run this checklist on a specific NSW conveyancing matter — confirm each item, calculate adjustments, and generate the supporting documents. The free trial requires no credit card.
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