LIFE RIGHTS AGREEMENT
What is a Life Right Agreement?
The Kloof Rest Home Association is the legal entity that encompasses all the activities of Kloof Retirement Villages. KRHA is a Non-Profit Organisation that is registered with SARS as a Public Benefit Organisation.
OUR ORIGINS:
The Kloof Rest Home itself has origins that date back to 1904 when the Guild of Loyal Women started Krantzkloof Convalescence Home caring for the wounded soldiers of the Boer War. These selfsame premises at 40 Abelia Road, Kloof, are used as our Head Office today. For much of the last century, the care facilities were run by volunteers. Rotary became increasingly involved from the 1950s and together with the Rotary Ann’s, oversaw the management of all facets of the Home.
Responding to the needs of the community, a Frail Care wing and a separate Medium Care facility were built. A combination of monthly rentals and donations funded the residents’ care costs. In the latter part of the century, Krantzkloof Park Retirement Village was developed on-site and a short time after, the Rotary Clubs of Kloof and Hillcrest donated two additional retirement villages, Greenacres and Kingfisher Crest to the expanding KRHA group.
Chartwell Estate and the Winston Park Care Centre were developed early in the new millennium. Our four retirement villages boast 135 well-appointed, independent living units which provide retirees with the security of tenure through a Life Right Agreement with KRHA.
The purchase of accommodation by way of a Life Right Agreement is a widely practised and well-recognised retirement choice popular in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Although South Africa does not have a specific Act governing Life Right living, our retirement villages are governed by the Housing Schemes for Retired Person’s Act 65 of 1988.
TITLE DEEDS:
The Title Deeds of each of our retirement villages are registered in the name of Kloof Rest Home Association and are stamped with an endorsement that recognises each property under this Act. This offers a protection against creditors against the Kloof Rest home Association.
NEW OCCUPANTS:
A Kloof Rest Home Association Life Right Agreement gives a new occupant and their partner the right to live in a specific unit within a housing development scheme for as long as they are able to live independently. When the ageing process demands a greater level of care, our residents are entitled to preferential accommodation in our world-class Winston Park Care Centre. The payment made for a Life Right can be likened to an up-front payment of a long term lease.
Should any clauses in the agreement contradict the provisions of the Act, then the provisions of the Act would prevail in any dispute.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A LIFE RIGHT AGREEMENT ENDS?
When a Life Right Agreement ends, the Title Deed Owner is then entitled to re-grant the unit to a new occupant. With a Life Right, the developer retains ownership of the Title Deeds in perpetuity. It is our experience that the departing resident or their family can expect to show a profit on an investment in our Life Right scheme after a few years. This arises from the demand for places in our retirement villages and the resulting increase in value of our Life Right over time.
CAN I BEQUEATH MY LIFE RIGHT AGREEMENT?
An occupant cannot bequeath the Life Right to their children, nor can a child purchase one from their parents with the intention of utilising the facilities for themselves at a later stage of life.
RESIDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Becoming a resident within the retirement village means that the purchaser of the Life Right becomes a member of the village Management Association. All the affairs of the village are managed by the Management Association members who elect their own Committee. The basic duties of the committee are:
- To maintain the property and all buildings.
- To ensure that the buildings are adequately insured.
- To collect the levy contributions from occupants in accordance with the budget drawn up by the Management Committee.
- To keep proper books of account and records.
- To arrange the Annual General Meeting each year.
- To operate the banking accounts of the Management Association.
The Act stipulates that a Managing Agent should be contracted to comply with all statutory requirements and submit all necessary statutory returns.
Conclusion
As a registered Non-Profit Organisation, Kloof Rest Home Association uses all surpluses accrued on re-grant of Life Right units toward managing, maintaining and improving the facilities of their 24-hour Frail and Medium Care Facility.
The affairs of Kloof Rest Home Association are in good hands. An actively involved Executive Committee oversees the day to day, month to month management of all affairs, reporting quarterly to a greater General Committee and to its Councillors. The finances of Kloof Rest Home Association and the village entities are managed by Infinite Property Management and are all independently audited annually. Kloof Retirement Villages offers the right of independent retirement living and when needed, professionally managed 24-hour medium and frail-care services. Our village members can be assured that for as long as KRHA is in existence, they will always be availed of the world-class care facility that we offer to our community.
