A retirement Village is a collection of dwellings in the same grounds that are only for people over 55.  It is usually run by a village operator, who provide ongoing maintenance & management of the village.

A Retirement Village unit is also known as an ILU (Independent Living Unit), because primarily it is for those who can live independently. However, some villages provide assisted living services (for those who can no longer cook or clean for themselves, or who need assistance with laundry & other services.

ILU’s are regulated by the State Government under the Retirement village Act 1999, & Retirement Village Regulations 2017.

There are three main types of tenure;

• Loan Licence is usually provided by the not for profit sector (church & charitable groups), ie you lend them a lump sum of money as the entry contribution, & they give you a licence to occupy the dwelling, subject to certain rights. Don’t assume that because it is run by church & charitable groups that it is necessarily any cheaper.
• Leasehold is usually provided by the “for Profit sector” & involves a lease payment upfront for the entry contribution, & also does not give you ownership of the real estate, but you obtain a right to occupy under the lease agreement.
• Strata title is not all that common, but there are some. Here you do own the real estate, but still come under the rules & regulations of the village & the Retirement village Act. Naturally stamp duty is involved based on the purchase price as you are buying the real estate.