You may wish to make changes to your residence while living in a retirement village.
Some alterations may be recommended by a registered health professional to help you live more safely and independently (called prescribed alterations), while others are optional changes you may choose to make.
Prescribed alterations
A prescribed alteration is a change to your residence that a registered health professional recommends to help you to live more safely and independently.
This may include:
- ramps
- handrails
- mobility or accessibility equipment.
Requesting approval for a prescribed alteration
You can request approval to make a prescribed alteration by writing to the operator.
Your right to request a prescribed alteration overrides any conflicting terms in your residence contract.
An operator must decide whether to approve your request to make a prescribed alteration within 10 business days and provide this decision to you in writing.
When the operator can refuse
The operator can only refuse your request if they have reasonable grounds. If they refuse, they must:
- explain their reasons in writing
- give you information about the village’s dispute resolution process.
Restoring the residence when you leave
If the operator approves the alteration, they may require you to restore the residence to its original condition when you leave.
This requirement must be made clear as part of the approval process.
Other alterations
You may also want to make other types of alterations, such as:
- installing an outdoor blind
- painting a wall
- adding fittings or fixtures that are not prescribed alterations.
Whether these alterations are allowed is generally up to the operator. Your residence contract must clearly state:
- whether alterations are permitted
- how alterations can be requested
- the approval process
- what conditions apply when you leave the village, including whether you must restore the residence to its original condition.
These requirements apply to any alteration you make after moving in, including alterations made during the settling‑in period.
