Retirement Village Costs in NZ — Real Numbers from Every Village's Disclosure Statement
Every figure on this page is extracted from the Disclosure Statements that New Zealand retirement village operators are required to file at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, or from pricing the operators themselves advertise. Nothing is estimated. Where the documents are silent, we say so.
Data: 233 NZ retirement villages, extracted June 2026 from filed Disclosure Statements and operator websites. Browse the underlying contract findings for any village at /ora-reports/.
1. Entry payments — what operators actually advertise
The entry payment (the capital sum you pay under an Occupation Right Agreement) is the largest number in any village contract, and it is also the least transparent. Of the 233 villages in our extracted corpus, only 37 have operators that publish entry pricing on their own websites — 97 advertised unit price points in total (source: operator websites, swept June 2026; this dataset grows as the sweep continues). The remaining operators publish no pricing, so the only way to learn the figure is to ask the village directly.
The table below summarises what those 37 villages advertise, by region. Where a region shows only one or two villages, treat the figures as data points, not a market range.
| Region | Villages with published pricing | Lowest advertised entry | Highest advertised entry | Median of villages' lowest prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 19 | $395,000 | $2,025,000 | $545,000 |
| Canterbury | 5 | $359,000 | $740,000 | $415,000 |
| Waikato | 3 | $379,000 | $720,000 | $399,000 |
| Wellington | 2 | $459,000 | $789,000 | $529,000 |
| Northland | 2 | $395,000 | $1,029,000 | $512,500 |
| Manawatu-Whanganui | 2 | $340,000 | $689,000 | $514,500 |
| Bay of Plenty | 1 | $545,000 | $785,000 | $545,000 |
| Hawke's Bay | 1 | $489,000 | $920,000 | $489,000 |
| Tasman | 1 | $560,000 | $560,000 | $560,000 |
| Otago | 1 | $435,000 | $435,000 | $435,000 |
Source: prices advertised on operator websites for 37 of 233 villages (97 unit price points), swept June 2026. Advertised prices change with availability; confirm with the village.
An honest note on coverage: because roughly five in six operators do not publish pricing, this table describes the villages that choose to advertise — which may not be representative of the villages that do not. The Disclosure Statement for a specific village is the document to check.
2. The deferred management fee — the full distribution
The deferred management fee (DMF, sometimes called an exit fee, departure fee or village contribution) is a percentage of your entry payment — or in some contracts, the resale price — that the operator deducts when your Occupation Right Agreement ends. It typically accrues over the first few years of residence and then stops at a cap. The cap is the number that matters: it is the maximum share of your capital the village will keep, however long you stay.
Of the 233 villages in our corpus, 228 state a DMF cap in their Disclosure Statement. The median cap is 30%, and 155 of the 228 cap at exactly 30% (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026 — browse any village's terms at /ora-reports/).
| DMF cap | Villages stating this cap |
|---|---|
| 10% | 2 |
| 15% | 1 |
| 20% | 6 |
| 22.5% | 1 |
| 24% | 5 |
| 25% | 44 |
| 27% | 3 |
| 27.5% | 5 |
| 28% | 5 |
| 30% | 155 |
| 39% | 1 |
Source: DMF caps stated in 228 of 233 extracted Disclosure Statements, Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, June 2026. The remaining 5 villages do not state a single cap figure in the extracted documents.
Two things the distribution shows. First, the market clusters hard at 30% — two in three villages with a stated cap sit exactly there. Second, the spread is real: caps run from 10% to 39%, and 44 villages cap at 25%. The accrual schedule (how fast the DMF builds before it caps) also differs between villages and is stated in each Disclosure Statement — compare the schedule, not just the cap. The villages with the lowest filed caps are listed at our DMF comparison page.
3. Weekly fees
The weekly fee covers village outgoings — typically rates, building insurance, exterior maintenance, gardens, staffing and shared facilities. What it includes, whether it is fixed or reviewable, and whether it stops or reduces after you leave all differ by contract, and all are stated in the Disclosure Statement.
A caveat before the number: only 27 of the 233 extracted Disclosure Statements state an exact dollar figure for the weekly fee. The rest express it as a range, a formula, or a figure "set annually" — so the corpus median below describes a minority of villages that disclose precisely, not the whole market.
- Median weekly fee, where an exact figure is disclosed: $179 per week (27 of 233 villages)
- Lowest exact figure disclosed: $77.71 per week
- Highest exact figure disclosed: $1,464.26 per week
Source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026. The wide range reflects very different unit and service types; compare like with like.
When reading a Disclosure Statement, check three weekly-fee terms: the review mechanism (CPI-linked, fixed-for-life, or operator discretion), what happens to the fee after you vacate but before the unit resells, and what is excluded (personal utilities and care services usually are).
4. Capital gain and loss on resale
Under most Occupation Right Agreements you do not own the unit, so any change in its value on resale belongs to whoever the contract says it belongs to. The data is unambiguous: in 93% of the 233 villages we have extracted, the resident is allocated 0% of any capital gain — the operator retains all of it (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026).
This is the single largest structural difference between buying into a village and owning a house. Over a long tenure in a rising market, the forgone gain can exceed the DMF itself. The small minority of villages that do share capital gain state the split in their Disclosure Statement — the per-village findings at /ora-reports/ show each village's treatment.
Capital loss treatment also varies: some contracts leave the resident exposed to a fall in resale value, others guarantee the original sum back. This is a separate clause from the capital-gain clause — check both.
5. The cooling-off period
The Retirement Villages Act 2003 gives every intending resident a statutory minimum cooling-off period of 15 working days after signing an Occupation Right Agreement, during which the agreement can be cancelled. Across the 233 extracted Disclosure Statements, the median stated cooling-off period is exactly 15 working days — in practice, most villages offer the statutory minimum and no more (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026).
The cooling-off period exists to be used. It is the window in which to take the Disclosure Statement and the ORA to a lawyer — which the Act separately requires in any case (see the disclaimer at the end of this page).
6. Exit, resale and buyback guarantees
When you leave a village, your capital is usually repaid only after the unit relicenses to a new resident. How long that takes depends on the market — unless the contract contains a buyback or repurchase guarantee that commits the operator to pay out within a fixed period regardless.
In our corpus, 99 of 233 villages include some form of buyback or repurchase guarantee in their documents; among those, the median guarantee window is 9 months (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026). The remaining villages make no such commitment, which means an estate or a departing resident can wait an open-ended time for repayment.
Related exit terms to check in any Disclosure Statement: whether weekly fees continue after you vacate, who pays for refurbishment before resale, who controls the resale price, and whether the operator charges a marketing or administration fee on exit.
7. A worked example
Illustrative example — not a quote from any village
The figures below use the corpus medians where they exist (30% DMF cap, $179 weekly fee, no capital-gain share) and an assumed entry payment of $500,000 over an assumed five-year tenure with resale at the original price. Every village's actual schedule differs — model a specific village before relying on any number.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Entry payment (assumed) | $500,000 |
| DMF at the 30% cap, fully accrued | −$150,000 |
| Weekly fees: $179 × 52 weeks × 5 years | −$46,540 |
| Capital gain allocated to resident (the 93%-of-villages case: none) | $0 |
| Repaid on exit | $350,000 |
| Total cost of five years' occupancy | $196,540 |
That is roughly $756 per week of effective cost ($196,540 over 260 weeks), excluding personal living costs, any care services, and the opportunity cost or forgone growth on the capital. A shorter tenure raises the weekly-equivalent cost if the DMF accrues quickly; a specific village's accrual schedule changes this materially.
8. Check the actual village
Medians and distributions describe the market; your contract is a single document. Two tools on this site let you check the actual terms:
Contract findings by village
Browse extracted Disclosure Statement findings — DMF schedule, capital-gain treatment, weekly-fee terms, exit clauses — for any of the 233 villages in the corpus.
Model costs for a specific village
Run the cost model against a specific village's filed terms — its actual DMF accrual schedule and capital-gain clause, not the market median.
Both run on the same extracted corpus this guide cites. If a village's terms look different from the documents you have been given, the filed Disclosure Statement is the version to ask the operator about.
Compare Retirement Village Costs by Region
9. Frequently asked questions
What is the most common deferred management fee in New Zealand?
Of the 233 NZ villages whose Disclosure Statements we have extracted, 228 state a DMF cap. The most common cap is 30% of the entry payment (155 villages) and the median is 30%; 44 villages cap at 25% (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026).
What is the median weekly fee?
Among the 27 of 233 extracted Disclosure Statements that state an exact dollar figure, the median weekly fee is $179, with disclosed figures running from $77.71 to $1,464.26 per week (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026). Most Disclosure Statements do not state a single figure — check the document for the village you are comparing.
Do residents keep capital gains?
In 93% of the 233 extracted villages, none of any capital gain on resale is allocated to the resident — the operator retains it (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026). The minority that share gains state the split in their Disclosure Statement.
How long is the cooling-off period?
The statutory minimum under the Retirement Villages Act 2003 is 15 working days. Across the 233 extracted Disclosure Statements, the median stated period is 15 working days — most villages offer exactly the minimum (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026).
Will I get my money back quickly when I leave?
Only if the contract says so. In our corpus, 99 of 233 villages include a buyback or repurchase guarantee, with a median guarantee window of 9 months; the rest repay only when the unit relicenses (source: Disclosure Statements filed at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register, extracted June 2026).
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How this data was collected, and what this page is not
Every operator of a registered retirement village in New Zealand is required by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 to file a Disclosure Statement at the Companies Office Retirement Villages Register (srp.companiesoffice.govt.nz). We downloaded every current Disclosure Statement, extracted the structured terms, and store them in a database; the statistics on this page were generated from that corpus in June 2026. Advertised entry prices come from operator websites and change with availability. The per-village findings are browsable at /ora-reports/.
This is not financial advice. We provide mechanical extractions of disclosed facts and analytical comparisons; we are not a Financial Advice Provider, and nothing on this page recommends any village, operator or course of action. Costs are one factor among many, and a figure that compares unfavourably in the corpus may be offset by terms the data does not capture.
Independent legal advice is required by law. Under section 27 of the Retirement Villages Act 2003, you must receive independent legal advice before signing an Occupation Right Agreement — a lawyer must witness your signature and certify that they explained the agreement's terms and effect to you. Take the village's Disclosure Statement and ORA to your own lawyer before signing anything.