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Elms Court Village
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Upper Riccarton, Christchurch

Elms Court Village

Elms Court Retirement Village Limited · Upper Riccarton, Christchurch · serviced apartments + rest home & hospital care
Life Score
72
Strong
Capital Back
42
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
Elms Court Village Elms Court Village Elms Court Village Elms Court Village
The village

Life here

Elms Court Village is a long-standing boutique facility in Upper Riccarton, owned and operated by Steve and Rosalind Burke since 2021. The village has been transformed into a loving, community-focused home that cares deeply about its residents. From independent serviced apartments to rest home and hospital-level care, life here centres on personal attention, weekly van outings, and an active social calendar guided by dedicated lifestyle coordinators.

Your home

Living options

Apartments, Studios & Care Rooms

Choose from 25 modern serviced apartments and studio units, or standard and premium rest home and hospital rooms. All serviced apartments feature separate ensuites, kitchenettes, underfloor heating, fridges, microwaves and fire protection.

✓ Serviced apartments with kitchenettes
✓ Studio units with choice of layouts
✓ Standard rest home rooms
✓ Premium rest home rooms
✓ Hospital-level care suites
✓ Underfloor heating in apartments
✓ Separate ensuites
✓ License to occupy or rental options
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Life at Elms Court is social and engaging, with residents enjoying a small-community feel where people quickly get to know one another.

Activities & Community

An extensive activities programme is led by lifestyle coordinators Robyn and Susie. Weekly van outings take residents to cafes, museums, the seaside and beyond. The village features four comfortable lounges, two dining rooms, three courtyards, an in-house shop, library and hairdresser.

✓ Daily exercises
✓ Weekly van outings to cafes, museums, seaside
✓ Organised entertainers
✓ Crafts and games
✓ Shopping trips
✓ Four lounges
✓ Two dining rooms
✓ Three courtyards
✓ In-house shop
✓ Library
✓ Hairdresser appointments
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Four lounges
Two dining rooms
Three courtyards
In-house shop
Library
Hairdresser
Van for outings
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

If your health changes, you won't have to leave the place you know. Elms Court Village offers these levels of care on site:

Independent→Serviced→Rest home→Hospital
✓ Registered nurse on duty · Clinical nurse manager · Personal care tailored to individual needs · Daily meals · Full laundry service
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Elms Court Village enjoys a peaceful residential location in Upper Riccarton, Christchurch, with convenient access to two nearby shopping malls—Westfield Riccarton and Bush Inn. The village's small size fosters a close-knit community where residents quickly become neighbours, while the boutique setting provides a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Interested?

Like the look of Elms Court?

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Now the practical part

The money — what comes back to your family

You've seen why you'd love it. This is the part most families only discover at the exit statement — so we put it in plain sight. Every figure is from the village's own filed Disclosure Statement.

Capital Back score
42
Below average · #310 of 520
Better than 40% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
24%
~$54k on a $225k unit, over 2 years
Your share of capital gain
0%
operator keeps 100% of any uplift
Time to get capital back
~64 days
median, from 4 recent resales
Fees after you leave
Continue
charged until the unit resells
7 years
Your estate receives
$157,500
Operator keeps (deferred fee)$67,500
Share of your $225,000 back70%
Before you sign, get independent eyes on the contract.An ORA-review lawyer or independent financial adviser — never paid by any operator — checks what it really means for your family.
⚖ Get independent advice →
How the 42 is built

Nothing hidden — every component

The Capital Back score is a transparent weighting of five filed terms — you can see exactly where this village wins and loses.

Move-in fee you don't get back Deferred Management Fee — weighted 30%
24% deferred fee — lower is better.
40
Share of capital growth Capital gain to resident — weighted 15%
0% — the operator keeps any resale uplift.
0
Speed your capital returns Median resale time — weighted 30%
64 days across recent resales.
99
Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%
Fees continue until the unit resells.
0
Interest if repayment is slow Interest on delayed capital — weighted 10%
No interest on delayed repayment.
0
The filed terms, in plain English

What the Disclosure Statement actually says

Every operator uses different words for the same thing — we normalise them so you can compare like with like.

%

Deferred Management Fee

24% of $225,000 = ~$54,000

Accrues over your first 2 years, charged on the entry price.

Market: median 30%; only 16% of villages charge under 25%.
↑

Capital gain

0% to the resident

Any increase in the licence value at resale is kept entirely by the operator.

Market: just 8% of NZ villages share any capital gain.
⏱

How fast your capital comes back

~64 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident. (Operator-stated average: 57 days.)

Market: median 154 days; 21 villages still average over a year.
!

Fees & interest on exit

Watch this

Weekly fees continue until the unit resells.

Market: 220 of 520 villages keep charging weekly fees after you've gone.
Before you sign the ORA

The reckoning usually arrives too late

  • You're buying a licence to occupy, not the home — you can't sell, rent or borrow against it.
  • Roughly $54,000 is gone in deferred fees within 2 years, whatever the unit later sells for.
  • Your family carries the risk of how long resale takes — and the operator's ability to pay.
  • None of this is hidden — it's all in the Disclosure Statement most people sign without reading.
Have someone independent read it first

We'll connect you with a retirement-village review lawyer or independent financial adviser — no operator pays to be here.

Request an ORA review → Talk to a financial adviser