Lifestyle Communities: residents don’t want to keep paying for services they can’t use during the coronavirus pandemic
Baby Boomers have been flocking to resort-style residential villages that offer everything from fancy bars and fishing boats to billiard rooms and private cinemas. But the coronavirus crisis has changed all that and now some residents want their money back.
South East
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Baby Boomers in resort-style residential villages across Greater Melbourne are being charged hundreds of dollars a month for five-star facilities they can’t use.
Lifestyle Communities normally provide residents access to a clubhouse, swimming pools, private gym, library, billiards room, cinema, fishing boat, electric cars and community bus as part of their rental package.
All of those luxurious extras were put on hold in March when coronavirus restrictions were introduced.
A document seen by the Leader reveals that since the lockdown some residents have been fighting to have their weekly fees reduced.
The fees range from $115.82 for a single person on a pension to $214 for a self-funded couple.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act rent must be reduced if services are reduced.
Clause 206ZB states that the rent cuts must begin as soon as services are reduced and the site owner must also refund excess rent paid from the time services ceased.
A resident who did not wish to be named said Lifestyle Communities had refused to agree to rent relief but instead had offered to freeze an annual rent increase of 3.5 per cent for six months.
“I have spoken to Consumer Affairs and was told we had a very strong case for rent reduction,” the resident said.
“Under normal circumstances individual homeowners could fight this at VCAT. But the backlog at the tribunal means by the time the case was heard the restrictions would likely be over and our facilities reopened.”
The resident said a similar battle was being fought by homeowners in at least 14 Lifestyle Communities across Victoria
However Lifestyle Communities managing director James Kelly said he had received only a handful of requests for rent relief.
He said the weekly fee covered a range of costs in addition to running leisure facilities, including gardening and maintenance and live in community managers.
“The only saving we are really making while the clubhouse is closed is not having to heat the indoor pool,” he said.
He stressed residents were being well compensated by the company’s decision to delay the annual rent increase and said the company had introduced a range of virtual “nurturing and wellness” services for residents during the lockdown.
“We’ve also made deliveries of tea and coffee and biscuits to every residents as well as a beautiful Lindy chocolate gift at Easter,” Mr Kelly said.
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There are about 350 residents at the Bittern complex which opened 18 months ago.
The community is the most recent to open under the Lifestyle banner.
There are also Lifestyle Communities at Hastings, Casey Fields, Berwick Waters, Officer, Chelsea Heights, Wollert, Plumpton, Brookfield (Melton), Seasons (Tarneit), Ocean Grove, Warragul, Geelong and Shepparton.
A proposed community at Tyabb hit a hurdle this week when Mornington Peninsula Shire council knocked back a planning permit application.
Unlike a retirement village residents own their house – which is relocatable – and lease the land on which their homes are located.
Homeowners do not pay council or water rates.