35119 (2026). Ingrid Leary to the Associate Minister of Housing
Written Question
Published date: 19 Aug 2026
35119 (2026). Ingrid Leary to the Associate Minister of Housing: Did officials obtain financial information directly from retirement village operators, their advisers, or the Retirement Villages Association for the purpose of modelling mandatory repayment timeframes; if so, list from whom this information came?
Hon Tama Potaka: The Ministry did not receive financial information directly from retirement village operators, their advisors, or the Retirement Villages Association. However, the Ministry did receive data regarding average relicensing timeframes from the Retirement Villages Association.
In Annex D of its 2025 Regulatory Impact Statement, Financial Exit Matters, the Ministry modelled the indicative costs and benefits of a maximum repayment timeframe. The variables used to calculate the costs of maximum repayment timeframes at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were:
• the estimated average value of retirement village units in 2029 ($816,297)
• the estimated total number of units in 2029 (45,811)
• a 12% - 15% range of estimated average unit turnover per annum
• total value of unoccupied unit at maximum repayment deadline
• average fixed deduction (25%)
• aggregate value of exit entitlements for vacant units
• proportion of unoccupied units at the maximum repayment deadline (reflecting relicensing rates)
• an additional capital adequacy buffer (33%) to account for a potential downturn in the housing market
• aggregate value of exit entitlements for units required to be funded at deadline, including a capital adequacy buffer
• weighted average cost of capital
• opportunity cost per annum
• opportunity cost per unit per annum
Information from JLL, Silvercare, the Retirement Villages Association, CBRE, the Ministry of Health, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and various other publicly available sources of information, are cited in the Regulatory Impact Statement which is publicly available on the Ministry’s website.