Steps to resolving retirement village disputes

If you have a problem with a retirement village operator or another person in the village, there are steps you can take to resolve the problem.

There is more than one way to resolve a dispute and different options may suit your situation better.

Miscommunications and misunderstandings are often the cause of disputes and it is important to try to talk to the person involved first.

You can apply for a tribunal hearing if you feel you are at risk of losing your home or you are a party to a building work dispute (about reinstatement or renovation work) or a mandatory buy-back dispute with the operator.

This guide will take you through the steps involved to resolve the dispute yourself or with outside help, including getting legal advice.

Before you start, you should know about:

Behavioural standards

As a resident of a retirement village, you're required at all times to:

respect the rights of other residents and other persons in the retirement village
not unreasonably interfere, or unreasonably cause or permit interference, with the peace, comfort and privacy of another resident
respect the rights of the scheme operator and the scheme operator’s representatives to work in an environment free from harassment and intimidation
not act in a way that adversely affects the occupational health and safety of a person who is working in a retirement village and is employed or otherwise authorised to work in the retirement village, by the scheme operator.

A retirement village scheme operator must respect the rights of residents and comply with behavioural standards.

A scheme operator must:

not unreasonably interfere with, or allow interference with, the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of a resident (e.g. it may be reasonable for a scheme operator to interfere with a resident’s access to a communal facility to make repairs to the facility)
take reasonable steps to ensure a resident or a resident’s guest does not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of another resident
use the scheme operator’s best endeavours to ensure each resident lives in an environment free from harassment and intimidation
not restrict the right of a resident to autonomy over the resident’s personal, financial or other affairs or possessions
not restrict a resident from exercising self-reliance in matters relating to the resident’s personal, domestic or financial affairs
within 21 days after receiving relevant correspondence from a resident or former resident, or the representative of a resident or former resident, give the resident, former resident or representative a complete response to the relevant correspondence.

How these obligations will be enforced

Both residents and scheme operators are required to comply with behavioural standards. These obligations are enforceable through the dispute resolution procedures outlined in the Retirement Villages Act 1999.

Help with other issues

You can get help and support if you are worried about or a victim of elder abuse. If you are being discriminated against because of your age read our support services information.

More information

Find out more from the Queensland Law Society
Find out more from the Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service
Email regulatoryservices@housing.qld.gov.au