Man’s huge legal debacle after mother dies in retirement village
Heartbroken Aussies who have lost a family member at retirement villages have been left fuming after being slapped with hidden fees.
Gerard Grant lost his mother Dulcie almost two years ago and grieved her death, hoping her affairs would be a simple process.
Mr Grant decided to lease the unit that his mother had been staying at for 15 years when he was shocked to find that he would instead be faced with a $55,000 bill for renovations.
"It was listing everything from changing over toilets, to door handles, to electrical work," he told A Current Affair.
"It was basically gutting the entire unit and installing everything brand new, which, in our view, was incredibly unreasonable and unwarranted, an absolute waste of money.”
Mr Grant was not having any of it and challenged the retirement village, which is now run by Centennial Living, who then lawyered up.
Lawyers sent Mr Grant letters of demand to settle the sale of the lease which should see the family pocket a huge $500,000.
However, the lawyers argued that the retirement village was entitled to the $55,000 for refurbishments.
It was then that Mr Grant suspected that his mother’s unit was not empty, so he called the landline and a woman called telling him that she had moved in.
Mr Grant told the woman that she shouldn’t be there because they haven’t yet given over the certificate for the lease.
Ian Henschke, the chief advocate for National Seniors Australia, noted it was important for families to understand what they were getting into with retirement villages.
"A lot of people don't realise is what they're often doing is simply buying a lease on the property. They don't own it," he said.
He warned that families are left with costs and exit fees they never expected due to the complicated contract.
Mr Henschke said it was up to the state governments to make it an easier process stating it was not fair on older citizens.
Image: A Current Affair