FAQ

The Occupation Right Agreement (ORA) is the most common form of occupation and ownership in retirement villages in New Zealand. All villages are governed by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and its regulations. The Act requires the appointment of a Statutory Supervisor, whose role is to protect the rights of the village. The Covenant Trustee Company is the Statutory Supervisor for Greenview Park Village.

Under the Retirement Villages Act 2003, your solicitor must fully explain to you the ORA, Disclosure Statement and Deed of Supervision and the ORA must be signed in your solicitor’s presence.

Residents occupy their homes under an ORA, however, the title to the land and building remains with Greenview Park Village Limited. The ORA gives residents the exclusive right to live in their home and use the village facilities. However, the ORA does not carry any entitlement to capital gain on termination of the Agreement.

Subject to the Village Manager’s approval, you can bring your pet to your home, provided it is a small domestic animal. When considering the replacement of any pet, decisions remain at the Village Manager’s discretion.

Yes. Villa occupiers may, if they wish, maintain the garden adjoining their own villas or an area allocated by the Village Management. Generally gardening and lawn mowing will be carried out by village staff as part of the service charge.

There is a Resident Committee elected by the Residents themselves, who will liaise between the Residents and Village Management. The Committee plays an important role in making our Village a communicative and happy place to live.

Each villa and apartment is equipped with a pull cord in the bathroom, a push button in the lounge and a pendant you can wear. These are linked by telephone to our computer as well as an alarm outside your unit.

When you activate the alarm it also sends a message to two pagers carried by two key staff. These units are checked automatically every 24hrs for contact. As well as the alarm security system, there is also a smoke detector in every unit and sprinklers in the serviced apartments.

While we do not expect there to be any issues, and actively manage the company to guard against this, it is important to note that under this form of ownership, the operation of the Village is governed by the rules and regulations of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and related Code of Practice. Previously the Securities Act legislation applied. Under these laws it is required that a Statutory Supervisor be appointed to protect your rights in the event of failure of the Village Manager.

It is Greenview Park Village’s responsibility to re-sell the Occupation Right Agreement (ORA) for your dwelling. Selling retirement village lifestyle is very specialised (compared with, for example, real estate). Greenview Park actively seeks to re-sell the Occupation Right on behalf of the former resident/s or family by developing a marketing plan, and consulting with and reporting to those involved, to seek the best outcome for all parties.

Under the Retirement Village Act and legislation it is required that certain (and extensive) information and disclosures are given to prospective purchasers. This process is governed by strict legal guidelines.

Certain changes that are acceptable for you to make to your dwelling must be approved through a process called 'Extras' and undertaken at your cost. There are established, accepted criteria determining which ‘Extras’ will add to re-sale value. Some additions will add value to your dwelling, others will not. These are known as substantive or lifestyle extras. This will be made known to you at the time of purchase of the ‘Extra’.

If the ‘Extra’ you request adds substantial material value to the dwelling, the cost of the ‘Extra’ may be added to the Occupation Right Agreement (ORA), giving a return on its value at the end of the Agreement.

If the ‘Extra’ is a lifestyle change, meaning it creates no real benefit to the material value of the dwelling, then you can on-sell the ‘Extra’ to the next resident or elect to remove it and return the dwelling to its original condition at your cost when you terminate your Agreement. Lifestyle extras are not added to the value of the ORA. This will be discussed fully with you at the time any extras are requested.

Greenview Park Village reserves the right to request all residents to return the dwelling to the original standard dwelling condition/specification on termination of the ORA.

There are two main possible scenarios in this situation. If there is an apartment available at the time of your request that has not previously been occupied, you may sign up for a new Occupation Right Agreement for the apartment and move immediately. You will be liable for just one weekly service charge in this case, as well as the usual re-sale costs that apply to the sale of your villa once that occurs.

If a previously occupied apartment is awaiting a sale, negotiations will need to be made. You may be required to wait until your villa sells in order to have the capital to pay for the new apartment before you can move in or alternatively if the current owners allow you to move into the apartment, they may ask you to pay a deposit as a goodwill gesture.

What then? Well, once your villa sells, you will receive back the initial payment of your home, less the Amenities Contribution Fee already utilised over the time you have been in the Village and less the cost of selling the villa. This repayment sum will be used to purchase the new Occupation Right Agreement for the apartment. Any balance will be refunded to you.

A weekly ‘service charge’ is payable monthly in advance.

This charge includes:
• Maintenance of grounds and communal areas
• External building maintenance
• Administration cost including staff costs
• Payment of Statutory Supervisor’s fee
• Cost of 24hr Emergency Callout
• Cost of Street lighting
• Rubbish disposal
• General Rates
• Building Insurance
• Water rates
• Twice yearly outside cleaning of windows

This charge does NOT include:

• Electricity usage
• Telephone connection and accounts
• Internal Repair and maintenance of damage caused by you or your
• Visitors
• Contents insurance
• Digital and/or SKY TV links

Any other costs not provided free as part of the service cost.

Under the Retirement Villages Act, there is a 15 working day cooling off period after you have signed the ORA with your solicitor. During this period you can cancel your agreement without any deductions. You will receive your deposit back with interest. You are unable to move into the village until at least 16 working days after signing the ORA with your solicitor.

The Retirement Villages Act, which came into law (in part) on 1st May 2007, removed the previous vacating costs for occupancy. There are, therefore, no significant other costs (for Residents after this date) but Residents are advised to seek advice on this matter when proceeding with occupancy documentation.