Lowest Deferred Management Fees in NZ
The Deferred Management Fee (DMF) is the single biggest cost in a retirement village contract — it's deducted from your unit's resale proceeds when you leave. Lower DMF caps mean more capital preserved for you or your estate. We've extracted DMF caps from every filed Disclosure Statement on the Companies Office Statutory Returns Portal.
Top 25 — Lowest DMF Caps
Ranked by maximum DMF percentage charged on exit. Source: filed Disclosure Statements, Companies Office Statutory Returns Portal.
- 1Bishop Snedden Retirement VillageWaikanae, Wellington · Independent Operator10%DMF cap
- 2Netherville Retirement VillageFlagstaff, Waikato · Independent Operator10%DMF cap
- 3Ashbury HeightsMaunu, Northland · Ashbury Heights Management15%DMF cap
- 4Atawhai Assisi Retirement VillageMatangi, Waikato · Independent Operator20%DMF cap
- 5Bupa PapakuraPapakura, Auckland · Bupa20%DMF cap
- 6Chatsford - The Lifestyle ChoiceMosgiel, Otago · Chatsford20%DMF cap
- 7Golden Pond LifecareWhakatāne, Bay of Plenty · Golden Pond Lifecare Management20%DMF cap
- 8Papamoa Sands - A Freedom Lifestyle VillagePāpāmoa, Bay of Plenty · Lifestyle Communities20%DMF cap
- 9Tamahere Eventide Retirement VillageTamahere, Waikato · Independent Operator20%DMF cap
- 10Frankton CourtFrankton, Otago · Presbyterian Support Southland23%DMF cap
- 11Belmont Lifestyle VillageBelmont, Auckland · Lifestyle Villages24%DMF cap
- 12Elms Court VillageUpper Riccarton, Canterbury · Village Communities24%DMF cap
- 13Ngatea Masonic VillageNgatea, Waikato · Freemasons New Zealand24%DMF cap
- 14Summerset Te AwaOnehunga, Auckland · Summerset Group Holdings24%DMF cap
- 15The Grange LifecareEast Taieri, Otago · The Grange Lifecare24%DMF cap
- 16Alandale Retirement VillageFlagstaff, Waikato · Independent Operator25%DMF cap
- 17Bethsaida Retirement VillageRedwoodtown, Marlborough · Independent Operator25%DMF cap
- 18Enliven Brightwater VillagePalmerston North, Manawatu-Whanganui · Enliven25%DMF cap
- 19Enliven Coombrae VillageFeilding, Manawatu-Whanganui · Enliven25%DMF cap
- 20Enliven Huntleigh ApartmentsWellington, Wellington · Enliven25%DMF cap
- 21Enliven Kandahar VillageMasterton, Wellington · Enliven25%DMF cap
- 22Enliven Poppy Fields VillageLevin, Wellington · Enliven25%DMF cap
- 23Enliven Reevedon VillageLevin, Wellington · Enliven25%DMF cap
- 24Hokianga Road Masonic VillageDargaville, Northland · Freemasons New Zealand25%DMF cap
- 25Karaka Pines Waihi BeachWaihi Beach, Bay of Plenty · Karaka Pines Waihi Beach (Independent)25%DMF cap
What is a Deferred Management Fee (DMF)?
A Deferred Management Fee (DMF, sometimes called "exit fee" or "departure fee") is a percentage of either your original purchase price or the resale price that the village deducts when your Occupation Right Agreement ends. It typically accrues over the first 3-5 years you live in the village, then caps. The DMF cap is the maximum percentage you'll ever pay regardless of how long you stay.
For a $1M unit, a 25% DMF cap means you (or your estate) lose $250,000 on exit; a 30% cap costs $300,000 — a $50,000 difference for the same village over the same tenure. This is the single most consequential number in a retirement village contract.
How we collected this data
Every operator of a registered retirement village in New Zealand is required by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 to file a Disclosure Statement (DS) with the Companies Office Statutory Returns Portal (srp.companiesoffice.govt.nz). We downloaded every current DS PDF, extracted the structured terms using Claude Haiku, and store them in a structured database. Each village page on this site links to the underlying filing.
This is not financial advice
The DMF cap is one of many factors in choosing a village. A higher DMF may be offset by better facilities, a faster resale market, or capital-gain sharing terms. Read the full Occupation Right Agreement and seek advice from a licensed Financial Advice Provider or elder lawyer before signing. We provide mechanical extractions of disclosed facts; we are not a Financial Advice Provider.