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, the same number as the previous reporting period.

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 October 2025 to 31 March 2026, 450 individual villages entered data into the complaint portal during the period it was open for submitting reports, compared to 469 individual villages for the previous reporting period.

315 villages (70%) had no complaints (72% in the previous reporting period).

135 villages (30%) reported 289 complaints (28% in the previous reporting period).

The proportion of villages with no complaints decreased slightly by 2 percentage points this period. The number of villages with complaints increased from 133 to 135.

4. Complaint status overview

83% of the 289 complaints have been resolved. A further 7% are reported as part resolved and closed. The remainder of complaints (10%) are open, part resolved and open, or under investigation.

5. Time taken to resolve

Of all 289 complaints, 212 (73%) were resolved within 20 working days. In the last reporting period 78% of complaints were resolved within this timeframe (185 of 238 closed complaints).

77 complaints (27%) were not resolved within the 20-working-day timeframe. Of these, 46 took longer than 20 days to close, and 31 remain open or under investigation.

6. Classification of complaints

Service quality was the most frequently reported complaint type at 20% (57 complaints), followed by Resident behaviour at 15% (44 complaints) and Maintenance/Repair of buildings at 12% (36 complaints).

In the previous reporting period, Maintenance/Repair of buildings was the most frequently reported complaint type (17%), followed by Resident behaviour (14%) and Service quality (13%). Service quality has moved from third to first place this period.

84% of the complaints related to the operator compared to 16% that related to resident behaviour.

7. Complaint status by main classification

Service quality complaints show the highest resolution count, with 52 of 57 complaints (91%) resolved. Maintenance/Repair of grounds also shows strong resolution with 29 of 34 complaints (85%) resolved. Maintenance/Repair of buildings has the lowest resolution rate among the top categories, with 26 of 36 complaints (72%) resolved and 6 still open.

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 (208 cases, 72%) were resolved without third-party involvement. 69 complaints involved other parties, 7 required statutory supervisor involvement, and 6 involved mediators or independent third parties.

Resident behaviour shows the highest rate of third-party involvement among major categories, with 21 cases involving other parties, 2 involving mediators, and 1 involving a statutory supervisor. The single dispute panel case this period related to a Code of resident rights breach complaint.

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:

• Service quality: Rose sharply to 20% in the current period (Oct 2025 - Mar 2026) from 13% in the previous period — the highest level since 2021 and a new top category.
• Resident behaviour: Remained relatively stable at 14-16% since 2021, with the current period showing 15%.
• Maintenance/Repair of buildings: Decreased to 12% from 17% in the previous period, returning to mid-range levels.
• Maintenance/Repair of grounds: Increased to 12% from 8%, the highest level since 2023.
• Management/Staff personnel: Eased slightly to 8% from 9%, remaining within its long-term range.
• Fees/Charges: Rose marginally to 6% from 5%, continuing to stabilise after the 2022 spike.

10. Historical overview since 2020

Reporting compliance has remained high over time, with the current period at 89%. 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: Rose from 190 (Apr-Sep 2020) to a peak of 396 (Apr-Sep 2024), eased to 262 in Apr-Sep 2025, and have risen again to 289 in the current period (a 10% increase from the previous period).
• Resolution rate: The current 83% resolution rate is the highest in the series, slightly above the previous 81% high recorded in Apr-Sep 2021 and Apr-Sep 2025.
• Villages with no complaints: Eased from 72% (Apr-Sep 2025) to 70% in the current period — still well above the 64% level seen across 2024.
• Compliance: Reporting compliance dipped from 93% to 89% this period, returning to levels last seen in 2020 and 2023.