“So anyone moving into the village would have been very aware (that) they would have to look at alternatives if their health needs changed,” Mudge said.

Retirement Village Residents Association (RVResidents) national president Brian Peat said the residents’ concerns about Mt Denby were typical of those being experienced throughout the sector and the reason why proposed changes to the Retirement Villages Act 2003 needed to happen.

A review of the Act, undertaken by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in partnership with the retirement sector, began last year. The RVResidents were now pushing to ensure proposed reforms, which included one about construction priorities, were enacted, Peat said.

Under the Act in its current form, vulnerable, elderly, retirement village residents had fewer rights than tenants under the Tenancy Act, Peat said.

“It has to change”, he said.

Residents who’d bought into Mt Denby expecting onsite care facilities still didn’t have any, Peat said.

Construction of a main building, which would house rest home and hospital-level care facilities, serviced apartments, and recreational facilities, had lagged while the operator instead prioritised building more accommodation.

“The operator should have been upfront with residents from the beginning,” Peat said.

The building of further accommodation at the delay of the shared community facilities was “really unfair”. It was hoped construction priorities would be included in the reformed Act.

“All they (the residents) really want is the fairness and consultation to make sure that everyone understands when things will actually happen.”

“It’s completely unfair for residents to be paying for something that isn’t available.”

It was typical of activities that led to several other operators across the county (not including Summerset) previously being investigated by the Commerce Commission (Com Com).

The resident said that when they met with a Denby salesperson at the end of 2021, she and her husband were told the main building with all its services would be available “within two to two and a half years”. They’d taken it in good faith so didn’t see the need to question it. However, they later found out others had been told the main building would not be completed until 2027 and 2028.

The resident was aghast to discover that later date was also registered on the Companies Office website. She and others challenged that registered timeframe with Summerset responding that it was an error. And, in November 2023, Summerset registered an amended disclosure statement marking the end of 2025 as the expected completion date for the main building. The discrepancy caused the concerned residents to distrust the developer.

They wrote to the chief executive requesting a 50 per cent fee reduction in lieu of the missing services to apply from January 2025, rather than the minimal reduction in fees they’d received so far. They also requested their spouses get priority admission to the new facilities when complete. Both requests were met with a refusal.

Instead, they were told that if Summerset was unable to deliver the main building recreational facilities for use by December 31, 2025, residents who moved in before September 14, 2023, would get a decrease of 50% off the weekly fees until the facility was available. The much-needed care facilities weren’t mentioned.

Summerset responds:

For Summerset, Mudge disputed that retirement village residents were not currently protected by the Act but agreed aspects of it needed reform.

He also disputed that Mt Denby hadn’t consulted its residents about setbacks in the building schedule.

Summerset had also informed residents about the error in the initial disclosure statement when it came to its attention and apologised for the confusion.

“When residents are moving into a village under construction, we advise them of indicative timeframes for the delivery of the village amenities and that these are subject to change.

There is no prioritisation when it comes to constructing facilities.

“Once the main building is open, our care facilities are not operational until we have recruited care staff and gained certification from Health New Zealand. This usually took about one to two months but bearing in mind it would be the Christmas/ New Year holiday period. It was Summerset’s policy to prioritise access to care for our village residents, subject to availability.

He noted the RVResidents association was not the only one that represented residents’ views and that a recent independent survey of Mt Denby showed a 93% satisfaction rate.

There was currently a temporary recreation centre available with plenty of activities provided.

“Our residents aren’t silly people, they’re hardworking and savvy New Zealanders who take a lot of time to make this lifestyle decision for themselves,” Mudge said.

* A picture originally attached to this story was wrongly described as being the construction site of Summerset’s new main building complex. The image was in fact of a housing development directly opposite the retirement village. The Advocate apologises for the error.

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.