The Retirement Villages Regulation 2009 NSW will be automatically repealed on 1 September 2017.
There has been a consultation process underway which has now been finalised and a new Regulation will come into force on and from 1 September 2017. Operators and residents should familiarise themselves with these changes.
The major changes that are proposed are as follows:
• clarifying that repainting of external surfaces once every 10 years is capital maintenance;
• requiring copies of a village’s insurance policy documents to be available to residents;
• a new “average resident comparison figure” in the disclosure statement to facilitate more effective comparison between villages;
• reducing the maximum amount payable for an operator’s legal and other expenses to $50.00;
• adding new matters for which village rules can be created, including smoking in communal areas;
• requiring clearer information in annual budgets around head office expenses;
• lowering the maximum amount allocated for contingencies to $1.00;
• prohibiting additional matters that cannot be financed by recurrent charges;
• simplifying the process for allowing residents to hold office on a residents committee for longer than 3 years; and
• allowing service of documents by electronic means.
We recommend that you familiarise yourselves with the draft Regulation.
The Regulatory Impact Statement may be helpful to you in understanding the proposed changes.
However, should you require any advice in relation to them, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Bill d’Apice, Partner | +61 2 9233 9013 | wdapice@makdap.com.au