Long awaited changes to the Retirement Villages Act 1992 (WA) (Act) and the Retirement Villages Regulations 1992 (WA) came into force on 1 April 2014.
The changes effect some recommendations from the final report of the statutory review of retirement villages legislation published in November 2010 (Report), which recommended over 100 changes to the retirement villages legislation.
The Department of Commerce has advised that it will now commence work on a second tranche of amendments to the retirement villages legislation with a view to addressing a further 38 recommendations in the Report. The Department of Commerce anticipates that these further amendments will come into force later this year.
Summary of amendments in force from 1 April 2014
Some of the important amendments to the Act are:
Cap on ongoing fees
A village operator can no longer charge a non-owner resident who has permanently vacated the residence with any ongoing fees (referred to as “recurrent charges”):
The Report recommended this amendment on the basis that many residency contracts provided that residents would remain liable for ongoing fees after vacating until a new resident commenced occupation.
Prohibited charges
For financial years commencing after 1 April 2014, village operators can no longer pass on a number of costs on to residents, including:
Disclosure and cooling off periods
The required statutory disclosure must be given at least 10 working days before the resident signs a residency contract (up from five working days).
After a resident has signed a residency contract, the resident’s cooling off period is now seven working days (up from five working days).
Prohibitions on persons involved in village management
Restrictions have been placed on persons who may be involved in any way (including employed) in village management. Prohibited persons include a person who:
Prohibited persons may apply to the Commissioner for approval to be involved in village management. The Commissioner may give this approval if satisfied that the wellbeing and financial interests of the residents will not be placed at risk.
Prohibited persons who are already involved in village management have a six month period of grace from 1 April 2014.
Please contact us if you have any queries in relation to these changes or require any advice in relation to retirement villages. Lavan Legal will monitor the second tranche of amendments to the Act and will update you when these are released for public comment.