Other housing options

Other housing options available including selling the family residence and moving to a lower maintenance housing situation. A popular choice is demolishing the existing home and replacing it with 3 townhouses, living in one and renting out the other two.

Suburbs within suburbs are an emerging style of housing that is proving very popular with Australians over 50. Pockets of South East Queensland, Coastal New South Wales and the Inner West of Sydney have already been developed in this way. These retirement communities integrate recreational facilities, restaurants, cafes and mixed residences within walking distance of homes, and have more in common with a holiday resort than a traditional community based retirement village.

Community Housing and Housing Co-operatives are also available in all states as part of state government housing options for the aged. They are dedicated to community support and self help resulting in a solid level of client satisfaction. The relevant state and territory housing websites are located as follows:

• Australian Capital Territory
  
• New South Wales
  
• Northern Territory
  
• Queensland
  
• South Australia
  
• Tasmania
  
• Victoria
  
• Western Australia

The Department of Health and Ageing and the Home and Community Care Program have created the Seniors Information Service which can assist with information and advice about housing options via their website.

Seniors Housing Online is an independent organisation that is dedicated to providing property listings that address all requirements for retirement and semi retirement in Australia.

Seniors Housing Net is an excellent and highly comprehensive news site dedicated to seniors housing in Australia.

Other Resources

The following are links to relevant retirement associations and organisations.

The NSW Office of Fair Trading offers a wealth of information on many areas of housing, including buying and selling your home, making renovations, renting a house or unit and retirement village living.

The Retirement Villages Association provides a national directory of retirement villages and additional information and resources.

It’s Your Life is an online retirement village information source that provides village listings, legal contacts, tips and hints for moving into retirement villages.

Further information on moving houses is enclosed in a Department of Family and Community Services booklet entitled Moving House- Your Choices. This booklet aims to help older Australians (both pre and post-retirement) improve their lifestyle through the choices they make about their housing. It provides a practical and independent guide to buying, selling or renting, and the actual move. To get a free copy, phone Centrelink on 13 23 00 or ask at any Centrelink office or download it from this website (in PDF format).

Australia Post also provides a comprehensive section on moving house.