Queensland Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the Palaszczuk Government is honouring its election commitment to ensure resident-operated retirement villages are exempt from mandatory buyback requirements under the Retirement Villages Act 1999.
Ms Enoch introduced new legislation into the Queensland Parliament to make renting fairer, claiming it protects the rights of renters and lessors while improving stability in the rental market.
“This (exemption from buyback requirements) will provide certainty and peace of mind to a small number of retirement villages where residents control and operate the retirement village themselves,” she said.
There is an 18-month mandatory buy-back period for both freehold and leasehold villages under the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (QLD), which requires operators to pay residents their exit entitlement 18 months after the resident leaves the village, unless doing so would cause the operator undue hardship.
Leasehold villages comprise approximately 93% of the current retirement village market in Queensland.
The small number of resident-owned villages who later face difficulties complying with the buyback provisions can apply for an extension of time to pay the exit entitlement under the current legislation.
