State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, is calling on local residents who may have purchased property in the new Shortland Waters development to check their contracts.
This follows shocking revelations on last night’s ABC Four Corners program that looked at the retirement village industry.
The issues raised in last night’s program included large exit fees, lengthy and complex contracts, and unfair practices such as operators taking a large slice of any capital gains accrued on a property.
Ms Hornery is calling on anyone who has recently purchased a property to obtain some legal advice and contact her office.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“The allegations raised by the Four Corners/Fairfax investigation were very concerning.”
“I would ask that anyone who has signed a contract for property at the new Shortland Waters development to have their contracts looked at or contact my office.”
“We need a full Parliamentary inquiry into the industry and I welcome the calls from our Shadow Minister for this.”
“The large exit fees, lengthy and complex contracts, and unfair practices such as operators taking a large slice of any capital gains accrued on a property and other allegations raised last night are disgusting.”
“The retirement village industry is worth billions of dollars a year and we need to make sure that hard working people who are seeking to be comfortable later in life are not subjected to these practices by operators who want to exploit elderly and vulnerable locals.”
“I would call on anyone who feels they have signed a contract that is taking advantage of them to seek legal advice and contact my office.”