Another self-serving council hurts retirement living sector

Gold Coast City Council, which is home to close to 100 retirement villages, claimed it was creating a fairer rates system for residents.

However, the truth is the opposite, with thousands of residents in retirement villages facing rate hikes.

Councillors at a special budget meeting on Monday considered separate petitions from Coomera and Helensvale residents about changes to retirement village rating categories. The new system was started last year and follows the lead of 10 other councils.

Residents from Keyton's The Gardens on Lindfield retirement village at Helensvale, 66km south of Brisbane, said the new rating structure had created additional financial pressure and “removed the cost advantages of living in a retirement village”.

A second petition earlier this month from residents at Baldwin Living Sequana retirement village at Upper Coomera, 55km south of Brisbane, said most retirees were on fixed incomes and the new rates placed “significant strain” on them.

Officers at the meeting outlined three different types of property titling arrangements.

• Single title schemes, where the village operator was responsible for the payment of rates, were in place at 16 retirement villages.

The others in the City were under two types of community titles schemes:

• Under the single title system, the village operator owned the units and leased them to retirees and was responsible for collecting the rates. General rates in this category ranged from $51 to $1,534 in 2024-25 but increased in these independent living units from $207 to $1,635 in 2025-26 — impacting 2,000 residents.

One of the community titles schemes involves the units being owned by the village operator who leases them to residents and is responsible for rates. This category saw rate reductions of up to 30% — down from $1,876 to $1,297.

• In the other community titles scheme, retirees own the freehold title and are rated separately by council. Their rates remained at $1,297.

Officers said the feedback from the retirement village petitions was noted but recommended no changes to the general rate structures introduced last year.