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Retirement Villages Act 2003

Preliminary provisions

8: Operator and director, trustee, or office holder of operator not to be exempt from liability

You could also call this:

"People in charge of retirement villages are responsible for their actions"

Illustration for Retirement Villages Act 2003

You cannot be exempt from liability if you are an operator or director of a retirement village. This means you are responsible for any mistakes or wrongdoing you do. You also cannot be indemnified, which means you cannot be protected from liability. If an agreement says you are exempt or indemnified, it is not valid. This rule applies to all operators and directors of retirement villages. However, if you already had an exemption or indemnity before this law came into force, you can still keep it. You are liable for any negligence or breach of duty you commit as an operator or director. This law ensures you are responsible for your actions in a retirement village. It applies to all retirement villages in New Zealand.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM220833.

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"What the retirement village operator must do"

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"Court can help someone who did something wrong in a retirement village"

Part 1Preliminary provisions

8Operator and director, trustee, or office holder of operator not to be exempt from liability

  1. This section applies to any provision in any agreement or other document that directly or indirectly has the effect of involving the residents of a retirement village in—

  2. exempting any operator or any director, trustee, or office holder of an operator from any liability that, by virtue of any rule of law, would otherwise attach to him or her in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty, or breach of trust of which he or she may be liable in relation to the retirement village; or
    1. indemnifying any such operator or director, trustee, or office holder against any such liability.

      1. Except as provided in subsection (3), any provision to which this section applies is void.

      2. Nothing in subsection (2) deprives any operator or director, trustee, or office holder of an operator, of any exemption or right to be indemnified in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him or her while any such provision was in force if the exemption or indemnity was in existence on or before the day on which this section comes into force.