Retirement Villages
Six-monthly Complaint Reporting Summary

Executive summary

1. Introduction

Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission monitors the effects of the Retirement Villages (RV) Act (2003), Regulations and Code of Practice. Variations to the Code of Practice became effective 1 April 2017 requiring all operators to report to the Retirement Commissioner six-monthly in relation to any formal complaints received, including to confirm that no complaints were received. The Retirement Commissioner requires operators to use an online complaint-reporting portal on the Commission's website.

2. Engagement with operators

Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission receives an updated list of registered villages from the Registrar of Retirement Villages before contacting operators and before opening the reporting portal on the Commission's website. The portal is opened for four weeks at the end of each reporting period. Prior to this reporting period the registrar advised that there were 504 registered retirement villages, an increase of 5 villages from the previous reporting period (499).

The Commission sends at least 2 electronic direct mail to operator contact email addresses before and during the opening period for reporting, including a link to the portal, an extensive User Guide and video tutorial resources. The Commission receives support from the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) notifying its members about reporting requirements in its industry-wide newsletter.

The Commission notes it may not receive complaints reports from every registered village because the operators of villages that are under construction and do not yet have residents living on site may not realise they are required by the Retirement Villages Act to submit a nil report.

3. Villages complaints status

In the reporting period 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025, 469 individual villages entered data into the complaint portal during the period it was open for submitting reports, compared to 463 individual villages for the previous reporting period.

336 villages (72%) had no complaints (64% in the previous reporting period).

133 villages (28%) reported 262 complaints (36% in the previous reporting period).

The proportion of villages with no complaints increased by 8 percentage points this period. The number of villages with complaints decreased from 168 to 133.

4. Complaint status overview

81% of the 262 complaints have been resolved. A further 10% are reported as part resolved and closed. The remainder of complaints (9%) are open or under investigation.

5. Time taken to resolve

Of the resolved or part resolved and closed complaints (238), 185 (78%) were resolved within 20 working days (in the last reporting period 60% were resolved within this time).

22% of complaints took longer than 20 working days to resolve.

6. Classification of complaints

Maintenance/Repair of buildings was the most frequently reported complaint type at 17% (44 complaints), followed by Resident behaviour at 14% (37 complaints) and Service quality at 13% (35 complaints).

In the previous reporting period, Resident behaviour was the most frequently reported complaint type, followed by Maintenance/Repair of buildings. Service quality was the third most frequently reported complaint type in both periods .

86% of the complaints related to the operator compared to 14% that related to resident behaviour.

7. Complaint status by main classification

Service quality complaints show the highest resolution rate, with 33 of 35 complaints (94%) resolved. Maintenance/Repair of buildings also shows strong resolution with 37 of 44 complaints (84%) resolved.

8. Third party involvement

Note: Multiple parties may be involved in a single complaint; therefore the total number reported here may exceed the total number of complaints.

The majority of complaints (188 cases, 72%) were resolved without third-party involvement. 50 complaints involved other parties, 18 required statutory supervisor involvement, and 15 involved mediators or independent third parties.

Consultation/Policy change complaints show the highest rate of third-party involvement, with 5 cases involving statutory supervisors and 4 involving mediators. Only 1 complaint required a dispute panel during this reporting period.

9. Most frequently reported complaint types - Trends

The following charts show trends in the six most frequently reported complaint types since 2020.

Key trend observations:

• Maintenance/Repair of buildings: Increased to 17% in the current period (Apr-Sep 2025) from 11% in the previous period.
• Resident behaviour: Remained relatively stable at 14-16% since 2021, with the current period showing 14%.
• Maintenance/Repair of grounds: Maintained a steady pattern around 7-8% in recent periods.
• Service quality: After a peak of 19% in Apr-Sep 2021, has stabilised at lower levels.
• Fees/Charges: After a spike to 14% in Apr-Sep 2022, has returned to lower levels around 5-6%.
• Management/Staff personnel: Remained relatively stable at 7-10% across most periods.

10. Historical overview since 2020

Reporting compliance has improved over time with high levels of compliance reported in the current period (93%). The actual compliance figure will be higher because some registered villages are still in development and have no residents in occupation of units yet. Across all reporting periods, the percentage of villages with no complaints varies between 64% and 81%.

Key historical trends

The following charts highlight the most significant trends in retirement village complaint reporting since 2020.

Key insights from historical trends:

• Total complaints: Increased from 190 (Apr-Sep 2020) to a peak of 396 (Apr-Sep 2024), then decreased to 262 in the current period (a 26% decrease from the previous period).
• Resolution rate: The current 81% resolution rate matches the historical high from Apr-Sep 2021.
• Villages with no complaints: Declined to 64% in the last two periods, then increased to 72% in the current period.
• Compliance: Reporting compliance has stabilised at 92-93% over recent periods.