Retirement Village & Aged Care Facility Contract Advice

Australia has an aging population, and an increasing number of older Australians are moving into Retirement Villages or Aged Care Facilities.  Whether a planned downsizing, or due to health or personal needs that require some extra assistance, moving into a retirement village or aged care facility can be a daunting process.  Unlike a standard property conveyance, there can be an overwhelming onslaught of information and disclosures made, a technical and difficult contract, and leases, subleases or licence agreements to be signed - all often required within a short period of time. 

Understanding your rights and obligations in any transaction is crucial, and moving into a retirement village or aged care facility is no different.  Arguably, we would say it is more critical in those circumstances, as you generally do not have the security of ‘owning’ the property you live in, but rather you reside there subject to the terms and conditions of the lease or licence agreement you have with the facility operator.  Those terms can cover a very wide variety of issues, such as services that will be supplied to you and how they will be supplied/paid for, restrictions on living at the facility, and the costs of moving into and exiting the facility.

At Ashton Estate Lawyers, we offer comprehensive and timely legal advice to clients, outlining in general language the critical terms and conditions of your proposed retirement village or aged care facility, with a fixed fee offered no matter the length of the contract or disclosure documentation supplied to you.  Please contact us for a free 15-minute initial discussion, including a fixed fee quote and timeframes within which we can review the contract and disclosure documentation and get our advice back to you before signing any agreements. 

In addition to advising on retirement village and aged care facility contracts, we can also assist you by facilitating the transaction settlement if you proceed with the purchase.