A retirement village contract is a legally binding, long-term agreement that determines how residents live in the village, what they pay, and what they receive when they leave.
For practical guidance on what to research and ask about before signing, go to Before signing a retirement village contract.
Standard form contracts
From 1 September 2026, new contracts must use the standard form prescribed in the Retirement Villages Regulations 2026.
The use of standard form contracts will help to ensure contracts are easier to understand and compare across villages and that they include all required terms and conditions.
Download the standard form contract.
Required contract terms
Contracts signed from 1 May 2026 must comply with rules about what they can and cannot contain.
Cooling-off period
Residents have a 7-business day cooling-off period after signing a retirement village contract.
During this period residents can cancel and will only be required to pay the prescribed administration fee (currently the greater of $100 or 0.2% of the entry payment under the contract). Contracts must clearly state this right.
Business days do not include weekends or public holidays, so the window is longer than 7 calendar days.
Settling-in period
If a contract includes a settling-in period (usually available to non-owner residents) it must clearly state when the period starts and ends and what can be charged if a resident leaves during this period.
No undisclosed fees
Contracts must not require the resident to pay a fee, cost, charge or liability that was not disclosed in the information statement.
Fair sharing of capital gains and losses
A contract cannot allocate a resident a higher proportion of any capital loss than capital gain on the resale of their premises or right to occupy it. This ensures that any gain in value of the property is shared in the same way as a loss would be.
Exit entitlement - contract must address the calculation method
Residence contracts must address the method of calculating any exit entitlement due to the resident when they exit the village.
Residents should consider asking a financial adviser to apply the calculation at various scenarios, for example, for leaving after 1 year, 3 years and 5 years, to understand the financial implications before signing a contract.
Deferred management fee - how it must be calculated
If a contract includes a deferred management fee, it must include how it is calculated. The fee can only be calculated as a percentage of a resident’s entry payment and by reference to how long they live in the village.
No deferred management fee can be charged if a resident leaves during the settling-in period.
Owner residents - no reinstatement obligation
A contract for an owner resident cannot include terms requiring the resident to alter or reinstate their premises.
Types of retirement village contracts
The type of contract a resident enters depends on whether a resident will be an owner or non-owner resident.
Owner residents hold an ownership interest in their premises - either freehold title or shares/units in a company or trust that provides the right to occupy their premises. They enter a management contract with the operator. Their right to occupy is an interest in land.
Non-owner residents do not own their premises. They enter a residence contract (and usually a management contract) that gives them a contractual right to occupy their premises.
Prospective residents should consider asking a lawyer to explain exactly what rights they are getting, how those rights can be ended, and what happens if you need to leave in different circumstances.
Types of rights to occupy premises
Property ownership
Some retirement villages offer contracts that enable a resident to buy a premises in the village.
Residents pay the agreed purchase price to the former owner of the premises, usually through their selling agent, such as the retirement village operator or an estate agent.
This means they own and can occupy a premises (lot) in the village and become a member (lot owner) of the owners corporation that is responsible for the common property in the village. This is similar to any other multi-dwelling development, such as an apartment building or townhouse complex. This is sometimes referred to as a strata scheme.
Unlike other multi-dwelling developments or strata schemes, buying a retirement village premises is conditional on:
- the retirement village operator also approving the purchaser as a resident
- the purchaser signing a management contract with the village owner.
Property owners will:
- be registered as the owner of the individual lot on the title deed held at the Land Titles Office
- have to pay owners corporation fees while they own the property.
Find more information about how an owners corporation works in a retirement village.
Find information on selling a retirement village premises.
Long-term lease or licence
Residents pay a repayable entry payment and in return, receive a lease or license to live in a particular retirement village unit for a period ranging from 49 to 199 years.
Residents will also have to pay a recurrent maintenance charge, usually on a monthly or quarterly basis. In some retirement villages, this charge is a fixed percentage of the age pension.
Depending on the terms of your contract, residents may also have to pay the operator:
- a share of any capital gains
- departure or exit fees
- other charges deducted from your exit entitlement.
Company title
Under this arrangement:
- a resident buys shares in a company that owns a retirement village. The shares give residents the right to occupy a particular unit in the village
- a Board of Directors, appointed by the shareholders, operates the retirement village and residents will be required to comply with the company’s constitution
- upon leaving the retirement village, residents are entitled to receive the sale price of the shares at settlement, less any outgoing deductions.
Company title is a complex area of law that was not developed for private residential accommodation. It is important to understand that, under this arrangement, residents are not buying property, but shares in a company.
Residents should get independent legal and financial advice about the contract and particular arrangements before signing a company title contract.
Unit trust
This arrangement is similar to a company-title scheme, except that residents buy a unit in a trust that carries an entitlement to occupy the unit.
The retirement village is legally owned by the trustee, who holds it for the benefit of the unit holders in keeping with the terms of the trust.
As with company title, upon leaving the village residents will be entitled to receive the sale price of the unit in the trust at settlement, less any outgoing deductions.
As with company title, unit trusts are a complex legal structure. Residents should get independent legal and financial advice about the contract and particular arrangements before signing a unit trust contract.
Periodic tenancy
Periodic tenancy arrangements are sometimes used by not-for-profit organisations running community-based villages.
A periodic tenancy is a lease (written or verbal) between the resident and the owner in which there is no fixed date for the end of the lease. This means the agreement operates from rental period to rental period.
In some cases you pay an ingoing contribution, some or all of which may be refundable at the end of the tenancy period. Paying rent gives you the right to live in the unit and use any common facilities.