You normally have the right to sell your unit through an independent agent of your choice, either an external estate agent or the retirement village operator.
If you engage an external estate agent (independent of the retirement village operator) to handle the sale, the retirement village operator:
- cannot charge a fee or seek a commission for the sale
- must decide whether to approve the buyer as a resident. If the operator does not approve of the buyer, the sale may not go ahead. Disputes about this must be resolved through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Before you sign a contract with an estate agent to sell your unit:
- the agent must advise you in writing if you have to pay a commission if the sale does not go ahead because the operator does not approve the buyer. The agent must get you to initial the page containing this information
- view Buying and selling property.
Depending on the terms of your retirement village contract, you may also have to pay the retirement village operator:
If a retirement village operator has a waiting list but is not the selling agent for your unit:
- you do not have to sell to people on that list
- the operator does not have to give the waiting list to your selling agent.