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The Occupational Right Agreement (ORA) is the name of the agreement between you and Kamo Home and Village Charitable Trust. It gives you your right to occupy a unit within our Retirement Village, and sets out the terms and conditions which apply.  You must talk to a lawyer before you sign your ORA, and he or she will need to witness your signature and complete a certificate confirming that you had the required legal advice.

A disclosure statement sets out information about the ownership, management, services and facilities of our Retirement Village.  It also sets out information about the costs of entering and leaving the village, the costs while you live there, and what you can expect to get back when you leave.  It includes important information about the cooling off period after you sign the ORA, during which you can cancel the agreement and get a full refund.  You must receive a copy of our Disclosure Statement before you sign your ORA.

The type of ownership under our ORA is a "licence to occupy".  This is the most common type of ownership for New Zealand retirement villages.  It gives you the right to live in the unit and to enjoy the facilities which we offer, but does not mean that you own the unit.

The operation of retirement villages is governed by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 (“RV Act”). The RV Act gives you specific rights, some of which are recorded in the ORA. Your Solicitor must explain these rights to you and you should ask your solicitor to take you through the ORA and its attendant documents. You must sign the ORA in the presence of your Solicitor.

One of the important protections given to residents by the RVA is the requirement for villages to appoint a statutory supervisor.  Kamo Home & Village Charitable Trust has appointed Covenant Trustee Services Limited as its statutory supervisor.  Covenant’s role is to monitor the village’s financial position and to report annually to the Registrar of Retirement Villages and also to the residents at the village’s Annual General Meeting. Covenant also holds in its trust account all deposits and other payments made by incoming residents, and any refunds payable to outgoing residents until those transactions are settled.

The price payable for an occupation right is the Entry Payment.  That depends on the particular unit you decide to live in and its current market value.  You will also be asked to cover our legal costs and statutory supervisor’s charges associated with entry to the Village. Kamo Home & Village will ensure that your costs are clear – there will be no hidden surprises or extras.  You will also have your own legal costs for independent legal advice.

Our weekly service fee is currently $110 per week. This cost is calculated by dividing the total amount of the village’s operating costs by the number of completed units.

When you leave the village you are required to pay a “Village Contribution” as set out in your occupation right agreement.  The amount depends on how long you have lived in your unit and can be up to 27% of the Entry Payment you paid when you moved in.  That payment is taken into account when your Exit Payment is calculated – your Entry Payment, less the Village Contribution, and our legal costs and statutory supervisor charges associated with you leaving.  The Exit Payment is generally made when a new resident enters into an agreement for the unit.  You are not entitled to any capital gain if the new resident pays more than you did for the unit.  However, if they pay less than you did, we may also ask you to offset the capital loss.”

You will also be expected to continue to pay your weekly service fee of $110 for up to six months or until the unit becomes reoccupied, whichever is occurs first.

Yes. The Village Rules are included as a schedule in the occupation right agreement, so you will be aware of your responsibilities before you decide to sign your agreement.

Kamo Home and Village Charitable Trust employees a General Manger who is responsible for the day to day operation of the village. He or she is supported by staff that is dedicated to meeting the needs of residents and subscribe to the values of Kamo Home and Village Charitable Trust. The Manager will meet regularly with the residents to share information and to discuss matters of interest.

Personal care, housekeeping and other support services can be purchased from the residential facility if required. A full list of services and fees will be made available to you.

Yes. This is your home. Your family and friends are very welcome to stay with you for short periods (up to three weeks) provided you tell us before they arrive. If you would like someone to stay for longer than three weeks you must obtain the written permission of the General Manager first.

You lock up your unit and apartment confident that everything will remain secure until your return. For a small charge we will air your home and/or water your plants.

You must seek approval in writing first and approval is most likely if you live in a unit or a ground floor apartment. We will want to reach agreement up-front over who will care for the pet when you cannot and we will want to obtain the agreement of your future neighbours to you having your pet. We will also want to agree what will happen if your neighbours subsequently complain about your pet. We will agree all this in writing.

No. Your Unit or apartment is solely for use of the persons named in the Occupation Right Agreement.

Yes. Though you must seek approval in writing first. You will however be encouraged to use approved contractors. When you vacate your villa or apartment you may be required to re-instate the unit or apartment to how it was originally.

No. An Occupation Right Agreement can only be issued in the names of the residents occupying the unit or apartment although the funds used to acquire an ORA may be paid from a Family Trust. You can also request that any termination proceeds be paid to a Family Trust when you leave. You should talk with your solicitor if you wish to use funds from a Family Trust.

No. The Occupation Right Agreement is not transferable and automatically terminates when you pass away.

Kamo Home and Village Charitable Trust recognises that from time to time residents have concerns and/or complaints which they wish to raise. While we prefer to deal with these informally, Kamo Home and Village Charitable Trust does have a formal complaints procedure in place and residents are entitled to ask for a copy. If satisfaction cannot be achieved through our complaints process within 20 working days the matter can be escalated by lodging a Disputes Notice under the RV Act.

Under the RVA you have a 15 working day ”cooling off period” after you sign the occupation right agreement.  At any time during that period you may cancel the agreement by giving us written notice.  There is no penalty for cancelling during that time and you will receive your deposit back with interest.  Note however that your lawyer may still charge you a fee for their services. Kamo Home & Village Charitable Trust will generally not allow you to move into your unit until the cooling off period has expired. If your unit is under construction when you sign your occupation right agreement, you also have the right to cancel if the unit is not completed within six months of date for completion specified in the agreement.