Retirement Living
Contracts & Costs
Understanding the financial details of moving house is crucial for making an informed decision.
We provide all the information you need to ensure you feel confident and secure in your choices.
A commitment to transparency.
For over 60 years, ECH has helped tens of thousands of South Australians transition to independent retirement living with ease.
Our commitment to transparency and straightforward contracts ensures you understand all costs upfront, making your move stress-free.
When moving into an ECH property you do so under a “Licence To Occupy” agreement.
This agreement gives you the right to live in the property for as long as you want. As owners of the building, ECH are responsible for maintaining it, giving you peace of mind that your home will always be taken care of.
Let’s take a look at some of the details:
Just like a traditional residential real estate purchase, all ECH properties are priced individually based on location, features and age of the unit, ensuring fairness and flexibility for all. Take a look at our Properties To Buy page to get an idea of prices and for available listings.
The “Entry Contribution” is, effectively, the upfront and total cost of your new home. The building itself will remain the property of ECH, instead the entry contribution guarantees your right to live in the property for as long as you wish.
As such, you do not pay any Stamp Duty when you purchase an ECH property.
When you leave the property, rather than being responsible for selling the home yourself, based on your contract type, we simply refund a predetermined amount of your entry contribution.
Use our Retirement Living Calculator below to get an estimated refund.
“Licence to Occupy” means you legally have the right to live in the property for as long as you choose to, but you do not own the building or the land.
Each Residence Agreement and associated financial contract differs based on the location of the village.
Similar to a cooling-off period when buying a new home, ECH’s Settling-In Policy is designed to give you peace of mind.
If (for whatever reason) you change your mind in the first 90 days after signing your contract, you will receive a 100% refund of the Entry Contribution, less the reasonable costs of rent.
We understand this is a large financial commitment, and we want you and your family to be 100% confident in your decision. Your ECH Sales Consultant will explain to you in detail how our pricing and contracts work and answer any questions you or your family may have.
We also encourage you to seek independent advice from trusted family, friends and advisors to make sure that independent retirement living is right for you and your circumstances.
Your estimated refund amount
$300,000
| What you pay upfront | $400,000 | 100% |
| Your estimated refund amount | $300,000 | 75% |
| Your management fee | $100,000 | 25% |
ECH is a profit-for-purpose charity, reinvesting all profits to improve services for ageing South Australians. Refund estimates are based on living in an ECH retirement village for four or more years, excluding weekly maintenance fees. Shorter tenures may result in higher refunds.
Benefits.
Choose an ECH property and enjoy many benefits including:
- No Stamp Duty
- Protection under the Retirement Villages Act
- Weekly maintenance (more below)
- Refundable deposit
Let us take care of a few things.
Maintenance.
ECH Villages give you the perfect balance of maintaining your independence and managing your own home, without the ongoing stress of upkeep and maintenance.
A weekly maintenance fee applies and covers a wealth of services including:
- Repairs and maintenance of all ECH supplied appliances
- 24-hour emergency maintenance response
- Council rates, water and sewer rates and the emergency levy
- Building insurance and public liability insurance
- Up-keep of communal gardens, paths, lighting, and roadways
- Scheduled internal and external unit maintenance.
Questions? We have the answers.
FAQs
Yes, ECH retirement villages are designed for people aged 65 and over who are looking to downsize and enjoy a more connected lifestyle in a supportive environment.
While we understand the importance of pets in your life, the pet polices at our retirement villages do vary. Some villages are endorsed as ‘pet friendly’ and may accommodate a dog or an indoor cat. Some are endorsed for indoor cats only and some are not pet friendly.
If the village you would like to move into allows pets, you will be asked to provide further details and potentially undergo a pet behaviour assessment before approval is granted.
ECH reserves the right to withdraw such consent should such pets cause inconvenience and annoyance to others, and the consent automatically lapses upon the death of the nominated pet.
Yes of course, friends and family are welcome to visit, and we allow an occasional overnight or weekend visit.
Prior written consent from ECH is required for guests wishing to stay more than 10 days in a 1-year period.
Approved alterations and additions can be made to your home. There is a process in place that needs to be followed prior to any works to ensure the integrity and aesthetic qualities of the property and village remain and that works are carried out in a safe manner.
All ECH villages have restricted parking and as such, it is not usually possible to park caravans and boats on a long-term basis.
ECH do have caravan and boat parking at ECH Rotary Village in Modbury, however, this is limited and approval from ECH will be needed.
Your property does have to be your main place of residence. One of the advantages of living in a retirement village is that your neighbours and community look out for each other. If you are going away for an extended period, you will need to inform ECH so we can gain permission to enter if any maintenance is required and that we know you are not there.
ECH encourages residents to try and negotiate a resolution amongst themselves. However, ECH does have a dispute resolution policy that can be applied if needed.
ECH have Resident Liaison Officers who can assist residents with wellbeing support. They can help to guide and provide information on My Aged Care, receiving services to help you at home, linking residents into community programs and much more.
ECH residents are protected under The Retirement Villages Act (2016) and Retirement Villages Regulations (2017) describe the rights and statutory obligations of retirement village operators and residents.
Feel confident in your decision.
We're here to help.
We want to ensure you have all the information you need to make informed decisions about your future home.
If you have any questions on pricing, contracts or inclusions, please get in touch.
Any questions?
