The term retirement village is defined under Section 6 of the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and covers a wide range of villages, regardless of what the village is actually called.
The Act requires the operator of every facility meeting the definition of a retirement village to ensure the village is registered.
A retirement village operator must not make any offers of occupation unless it's registered on the Retirement Villages Register.
It's irrelevant what particular legal form (such as a licence to occupy, unit title, or lifetime lease or tenancy) is used when a resident purchases a right to live in a unit in a registered retirement village — regardless of the form, the residents will be protected by the Act.
Multiple units — The place has 2 or more residential units. A residential unit might be a villa, an apartment, a studio unit, a kaumatua flat, or even a room in a rest home, or any other place that was built as, or is now mainly used as, a unit of accommodation.
Accommodation and services or facilities — The place provides residential accommodation, together with services or shared facilities, or both.
For retirement — The place is mainly for people in their retirement, including their spouses or partners.
Capital sum — The residents pay a capital sum in return for their right to live in the place. A capital payment could be either a lump sum or periodic payments, if the payments are substantially more than would be paid to cover rent and such services or facilities for the relevant period.
Seek independent legal advice if you're unsure whether your premises fall within the definition of a retirement village.