How retirement village fees work
Four numbers decide what a village costs you: what you pay to get in, what you pay each week, what the village keeps when you leave, and when you get the rest back.
Entry price
In most villages you do not buy the property. You buy the right to live in it, set out in an occupation right agreement (ORA), the contract that lets you live there. The entry price, sometimes called the capital sum or licence payment, is what you pay for that right.
On this site, "entry price from" is the lowest price among the units for sale right now. It is not a promise about every unit in the village, and prices change as units sell.
Weekly fee
The weekly fee pays for running the village: rates, insurance, maintenance, gardens and staff. Some villages fix it for as long as you live there. Others review it every year, often with a promise that it will not rise faster than NZ Super or inflation. Ask whether it stops the day you move out. Several large operators now say it does.
Exit fee (deferred management fee)
The exit fee is a share of your entry price that the village keeps when you leave. You do not pay it up front. It comes out of your refund. It is usually a percentage of what you paid, not of what the unit later sells for.
It builds up in one of three ways:
- Flat from day one. The full fee applies however long you stay. Ryman charges 30% this way.
- A set amount each year, up to a cap. For example 10% a year for three years, then capped at 30%. Metlifecare and Oceania work like this.
- Over a longer period. Summerset's 25% builds up over five years. Arvida's 30% is reached within four years.
The shape matters most if you might leave early, for example if you need full-time care sooner than planned.
Worked example: a $600,000 unit
At a 25% exit fee
You pay$600,000
The village keeps$150,000
You get back$450,000
At a 30% exit fee
You pay$600,000
The village keeps$180,000
You get back$420,000
The difference between 25% and 30% on this unit is $30,000. Weekly fees are on top.
How the fee builds changes what you get back if you leave early:
| Years lived there | 30% from day one | 10% a year to 30% | 25% over 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $420,000 | $540,000 | $570,000 |
| 2 | $420,000 | $480,000 | $540,000 |
| 3 | $420,000 | $420,000 | $510,000 |
| 4 | $420,000 | $420,000 | $480,000 |
| 5 | $420,000 | $420,000 | $450,000 |
| 6 | $420,000 | $420,000 | $450,000 |
| 10 | $420,000 | $420,000 | $450,000 |
What you get back from a $600,000 entry price, before weekly fees. Fees are spread evenly across the build-up years.
Capital gains
If the unit is worth more when you leave, the large operators keep that gain. Their pages say so plainly. In return, most say you do not carry a loss if prices fall. A few smaller villages share the gain: Vivid Living, for example, says residents receive half of any net gain. Check the agreement, because this can be worth more than the exit fee.
When you are repaid
Your refund is your entry price less the exit fee and anything you owe. Some villages pay only once the unit is resold to the next resident, which can take months. Others promise to pay within a set time even if it has not resold, often 12 months. Ask whether interest is paid while you wait, and whether weekly fees stop when you move out.
Disclosure statements: your right to one
Every registered retirement village must give you a disclosure statement before you sign. It sets out the fees, how the exit fee builds, what happens when you leave and how you are repaid. Ask for it early, before you fall in love with a unit. You do not need to commit to anything to get one.
The law also requires you to get advice from your own lawyer before you sign an occupation right agreement, and gives you 15 working days to change your mind after signing. The Retirement Commission, Te Ara Ahunga Ora, publishes free guidance at retirement.govt.nz.
Check the village on the Retirement Villages Register, which the Companies Office keeps. A village's entry gives its registration number and its statutory supervisor, the independent party, licensed by the Financial Markets Authority, that holds residents' deposits and watches the village's finances (Retirement Commission). We found 435 of the 491 villages on this site on the register, read 15 October 2026, and each village page shows its entry. If we could not find a village, ask the operator for its registration number before you sign anything.
Questions to ask every village
- What is the exit fee, and how does it build up year by year?
- What is the weekly fee, can it rise, and does it stop the day I move out?
- When exactly do I get my money back, and is interest paid while I wait?
- Who keeps any capital gain, and could I carry a loss?
- What other charges come out of my refund, such as refurbishment or sale costs?
- If I need more care, can I move within the village, and what does that cost?