This is a case where those that signed up for an Occupational Right
Agreement (ORA) at a retirement village were reportedly promised
construction of communal facilities (including hospital care
facilities) in the future.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/issues-at-whangarei-retirement-village-highlighted-in-push-for-law-reform/S3MMKUCSMRDRTH74BRLWOI4UL4/

There is no law change needed. The promises were all verbal so are
difficult to prove, but potentially Summerset mislead or made
inaccurate claims about when facilities were built, and ORA buyers are
upset it the building project is delayed. Not mentioned is that fact
that residents can leave the village, although there are usually
substantial financial costs to resell ORAs.

The moral of this story is that when considering signing an ORA,
promises in respect of facilities not yet built need to be included in
the ORA. This way the village owner (including the new one if
ownership changes) has a contractual obligation. If the ORA
salesperson makes a promise about future facilities to be built then
if they will not put that promise into the agreement it is worthless
so don't sign up.

ORA buyers should also always consult a lawyer about it before
signing, just as you should with any purchase of real estate.

If you don't do this, don't expect the government to bail you out if
it all turns to custard.


--
Crash McBash

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Fri, 19 Jul 2024 10:39:32 +1200, Crash <nogood@dontbother.invalid>
wrote:

This is a case where those that signed up for an Occupational Right
Agreement (ORA) at a retirement village were reportedly promised
construction of communal facilities (including hospital care
facilities) in the future.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/issues-at-whangarei-retirement-village-highlighted-in-push-for-law-reform/S3MMKUCSMRDRTH74BRLWOI4UL4/

There is no law change needed. The promises were all verbal so are
difficult to prove, but potentially Summerset mislead or made
inaccurate claims about when facilities were built, and ORA buyers are
upset it the building project is delayed. Not mentioned is that fact
that residents can leave the village, although there are usually
substantial financial costs to resell ORAs.

The moral of this story is that when considering signing an ORA,
promises in respect of facilities not yet built need to be included in
the ORA. This way the village owner (including the new one if
ownership changes) has a contractual obligation. If the ORA
salesperson makes a promise about future facilities to be built then
if they will not put that promise into the agreement it is worthless
so don't sign up.

ORA buyers should also always consult a lawyer about it before
signing, just as you should with any purchase of real estate.

If you don't do this, don't expect the government to bail you out if
it all turns to custard.

I agree, Crash. I was not able to read the article in full due to the
paywall, but I have heard similar concerns about retirement village
operators before.

See also: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/510176/summerset-posts-strong-lift-in-profit#:~:text=Retirement%20village%20operator%20Summerset%20posted,%24436.3m%20vs%20%24269.1m

Not all retirement home companies have done as well: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/509954/metlifecare-reports-first-half-loss

but the key is how they valued their agreements.

Some have found it harder to attract purchasers recently as prices for
houses that they compete with (smaller homes close to services) have
dropped in many places, and they have found that their costs for
building have increased, and in some cases they have found that
residents may be living a little longer - they rely on good turnover
and in part due to the Covid response the average lifetime in their
properties was increasing.

Hospital care facilities are particularly difficult due to
difficulties in finding staff, and the cost of the construction.

Your advice to those thinking of moving to such a village is spot on.

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