Cancelling a retirement village's registration

Retirement village operators can only ask the Registrar to cancel their registration on the Retirement Villages Register if:

• all residents of the retirement village have received independent legal advice about the effects of cancellation, and
• at least 90 per cent of those residents have consented in writing to the cancellation.

The information and supporting documents you need to provide

You will need to complete a request for cancellation of registration form (Form RV4) and upload it online. This form must be signed by each operator of the village.

You will need to explain why you are requesting cancellation of the village's registration and confirm that:

1. The village has ceased to operate as a retirement village or will do so on cancellation
2. All residents of the village have received independent legal advice about the effects of cancellation of registration (or that there are no residents of the village).
3. At least 90% of those residents have consented in writing to that cancellation (or that there are no residents of the village).
4. All residents’ occupancy agreements have been terminated (if relevant)
5. All residents have been fully paid out their termination payments under their occupancy agreements (if relevant)
6. Tere are no complaints or disputes currently being processed through the villages' formal or informal complaints process, and
7. All reasonable steps have been taken to withdraw all advertising and offers of occupancy relating to the village.

You will also need to provide:

1. Confirmation from the operator as to whether residents will continue to live at the village following the termination of their occupancy agreements and on what basis (if relevant)
2. Consent of the statutory supervisor to cancellation of registration of retirement village (if relevant)
3. A copy of the current annual return (if that's not already been provided to the Registrar).

File formats for uploading documents

Any forms or supporting documents you upload must be:

• clear and easily read
• saved in PDF format, and
• no larger than 20MB.

Paying the registration fees

You must pay a LINZ registration fee when you submit your application.

We offer 2 payment options for paying fees (by card or direct debit). To pay by direct debit you will need to set up the direct debit facility several days before you apply to register your retirement village.

How to apply online

You will need:

• a RealMe® login
• confirmed authority with us to update the register for this retirement village, and
• card details or a direct debit to pay the fees.

If it is your first time updating details for a retirement village, you will be prompted for information to set up an online account with us.

For help check our guides

Step by step

1. Log in using your RealMe login.
2. Select 'Authorities' from the menu.
3. Choose your retirement village from the list.
4. Select ‘Create Filing Service’.
5. Choose ‘Request for Cancellation’ (for the type of service).
6. Upload the documents, including:
   • your request for cancellation form, and
   • all necessary supporting documents (the information needed is set out in the guidance notes in form RV4). 
7. Submit your application and pay the fees.
8. Wait for the payment confirmation before closing the window.
   Find out what payment options are available.

Update a retirement village

We will send you an email confirming that your request has been submitted. We will then review your request and contact you if we have any questions or need any further information. We aim to complete our review within 20 working days.

If we accept your request, we will confirm that by email.  If we reject your request, we will email you and outline the reasons why.

You can check the status of your request by logging into the Retirement Villages Register. Choose the ‘Filing Services’ option to view any requests that are in progress. If your request status shows as ‘Draft’ you can edit or discard it by choosing the drop-down arrow alongside the filing service. 

Check the status of an update

Last updated September 2025