The Rates Rebate (Retirement Village Residents) Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 1) came into effect on 2 February 2017, addressing an anomaly under the Rates Rebate Act 1973. The Act ensures residents of retirement villages are recognised as paying rates and are therefore entitled to apply for a rates rebate, regardless of the billing practice of the local authority.
Local authorities are heavily reliant on expert certification when determining consent applications and compliance with conditions of consent, but which experts should they trust?
This question has recently been explored by the Environment Court in David Mulholland Consulting Engineer Ltd v Whanganui District Council [2018] NZEnvC 10.
Amendments to the consenting and notification provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) came into effect on 18 October 2017, altering how resource consent applications are processed, and how notification and affected persons are determined.
The growth of the retirement village industry is a defining feature of lifestyle for the senior group in the 21st century. Many elderly people view moving into a retirement village unit as a safe, secure and convenient way of life. However the financial and opportunity costs involved in entering into a retirement village need to be carefully considered.
It is becoming increasingly common to see franchisors using a joint venture model for their franchises. Specsavers is a well known example. A joint venture (JV) structure can have distinct benefits for the franchisor but it also comes with its own challenges.
Even when the documentation entered into between parties appears clear and able to be interpreted precisely, when the parties end up in a dispute, it is always quite fascinating to see how the actions or words of one or the other of them can be interpreted differently depending on which side of the dispute you are sitting.
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