The Retirement Village Lifestyle

Choosing the village that meets your needs and expectations can help enrich your quality of life and enable you to pursue your future lifestyle aspirations.

A retirement village offers a fantastic lifestyle to those who want to live independently whilst enjoying the benefits that a retirement village can provide. People can enjoy the retirement village lifestyle whether they are 55 or 90 years of age. Retirement villages are located in prime areas which maybe beside the sea, near a golf course or in the heart of the city.

The term 'Retirement Village", covers an ever increasing variety of accommodation and services for people over 55 years of age. There are many different types of retirement villages available to choose from. Villages can have an emphasis on 'lifestyle' with resort-style accommodation and facilities. Some villages can provide a full range of care options so residents can enjoy a village lifestyle for as long as they want.

Each village is unique in what is has to offer. Villages can range in size from two units to over 300. The types of accommodation offered can vary from villas or town houses to apartments, and serviced apartments. Most villages have a community centre and offer a range of recreation facilities.

Some reasons to move to a retirement village:

  • Enjoy the privacy of your own home
  • Maintain independence in a supportive environment
  • Have peace of mind from 24 hour 'on call' assistance
  • Gain access to a variety of services and recreation facilities
  • Remove the major worry of maintaining a home
  • Eliminate the need to worry about security

Living in a retirement village you have the best of both worlds, you can enjoy the benefits of privacy and security whilst not having to worry about maintaining your home. Choosing a village which suits you can enrich your life and give you the time to pursue your interests amongst friends.

The most common phrase we hear from existing residents is "I wish I had made the decision to move sooner."

Why you should choose an RVA village?

RVA members have chosen to be committed to providing quality services within their village. By establishing a compulsory RVA Accreditation programme the Association seeks to demonstrate that accredited villages are responsible and committed to meeting resident's needs.

Increasingly, residents within the community are demanding greater accountability and consistency in services offered by public, community, charitable and private retirement village service providers. Prospective residents can make the decision to move to an accredited village with confidence that appropriate standards have been met and are being maintained.

Download Your Questions Answered brochure
Download Code of Residents' Rights

RVA Key Terms Summary

We know that some key terms about living in a retirement village are not easy to find in the various legal documents intending residents receive. The RVA's Key Terms Summary is a simple two page summary of some important information all residents need to understand. These include the fees payable by the resident on entry, while living in the village and on exit, whether capital gain or capital loss is shared, what happens when leaving the village, transferring units within the village, and the care available at the village. All members are required to use the same format so you can compare one village's offering easily with another.

Member villages are expected to give you a copy of their Key Terms Summary when they give you copies of their Occupation Right Agreement and Disclosure Statement. If you haven't got one, please ask!

Download the RVA Key Terms Summary

Best Practice Guidelines for Disclosure of the Right to Transfer to Care within a Retirement Village

Regulation 31 of the Retirement Villages (General) Regulations 2006 sets out the requirement to make various disclosures relating to moving into a rest home or hospital care institution in a retirement village. The RVA recommends that the disclosures in this Guideline should the minimum be addressed when complying with this Regulation.


Disclaimer: The content of this RVA website is only intended to be used to obtain a general overview of retirement villages. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on for that purpose. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any information contained in this website.


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