The glossy brochures for Lifestyle Communities paint an enticing picture for many retirees drawing a government pension: well-maintained homes set amid gardens, shared indoor pools and croquet lawns. For a change of scene, there’s also free access to holiday timeshares and motorhomes on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula.

As one of the early entrants into the fast-growing and increasingly competitive land lease sector, where residents buy their house but rent the land, the $1.5 billion Lifestyle Communities has also been a sharemarket success story.