England’s most popular retirement villages – and how much it costs to live in them

Telegraph Money reveals the country’s most sought-after developments for later-life

Teenagers often have a sitcom-inspired idea of how their young adult life will look. They might envisage having a long list of hobbies, living a short walk from their friends and frequenting a local cafe or bar with them for the majority of the time they’re not at work.
But why should this dream be limited to those in their early-20s? The rise of retirement villages – developments built specifically for older adults – can provide this idyllic sitcom life, exclusively for those aged over 55.
However, it doesn’t come cheap. Costing an average of nearly £250,000 for a one-bed apartment, or more than £2,600 a month to rent – and often with hefty extra costs – choosing the right retirement village is no easy feat.
Using research from the online care platform Lottie, Telegraph Money reveals some of the country’s most popular luxurious retirement villages.
Complete with a restaurant, bar, club room, wellness suite and library, Queensgate Apartments in Sidcup, south-east London, is the most popular retirement village among those searching for a spot, according to Lottie.
It offers one, two and three-bedroom apartments (although its website states only two and three-bed options are available right now), with on-site support. Domestic help, such as cleaning, laundry and transportation, as well as personal care for dressing and washing, is available at an extra cost – but nursing care is not provided.
The apartments are only available to rent and cost at least £3,276 a month for a one-bed. Two-bed apartments cost £3,500 a month and three-beds cost £3,750 a month. This figure includes all bills, as well as general maintenance and an hour’s support each week.
Private rental one-bedroom flats in the area cost less than half of this – according to Rightmove, the cheapest one-bed in the same area costs £1,150 a month. 
Pros: assured tenancies (so you can stay for life if you choose), all-inclusive rent, close to shops, public transport and a hospital.
Cons: no purchase option available, expensive compared to private flats in the area, and more expensive than the average rental in a retirement village.
The second most popular retirement village is located near the south coast in Titchfield, a small village in Hampshire.
All residents here have access to the restaurant, bar, cafe, cinema room and 24/7 on-site help. Residents get 90 minutes of help each week for tasks such as laundry and cleaning. If you need more assistance, you can create tailored packages with fully qualified carers.
The cheapest property for sale at the time of writing – a two-bedroom 759-square foot first-floor apartment – costs £350,000. Larger, more luxurious properties cost up to £615,000. Outside of Friary Meadow, other two-bedroom properties in the area cost as little as £225,000, so you will certainly be paying a premium.
You can rent at the complex from £1,200 a month, which works out at about £2,400 more a year than a two-bed private rental property nearby.
There are also extra costs. A service charge covering building maintenance and staff salaries is about £535 a month for a two-bedroom property and £560 for a three-bed, and it has to be paid even if the property is empty. 
If you choose to buy your property, you will pay a 3pc “event fee” when it is resold.
Pros: option to rent or buy, tailored care packages to suit your needs, prices are close to average retirement village costs.
Cons: hefty service charge and exit fee, no gym or swimming pool on-site (although a separate facility is located next-door), it’s an extra £250 a year for a car parking space.
Ten minutes from Ashford town and a stone’s throw from the Kent Downs is Lakeside Retirement Village. Set in 17 acres of grounds, the complex has a private lake and nature reserve, and residents have access to a restaurant, communal lounge and concierge service.
If you are looking to buy, the two-bed apartments cost between £328,500 and £369,000, with an additional service charge of about £300 a month. You would also need to pay your own utilities and council tax on top of this, and ground rent of £100 a year. 
There is a waiting list for rented properties in the village, which start at £1,200 a month (including service charge).
Two-bed flats in Ashford are on the market for between £150,000 to £350,000. Private rentals cost between £975 and £1,600 a month.
Pros: surrounded by nature, close links to road and rail, no exit fee, and prices close to market rates in the area.
Cons: fewer facilities and services than other retirement villages, no 24/7 on-site support (although there is an emergency call system in place), bills not included in service charge.
Richmond Villages in Northampton has an on-site coffee shop, restaurant, hair salon, library, craft studio and award-winning gardens, and residents can make the most of a daily activities programme run by a dedicated team.
You can opt to buy or rent. The cheapest property available, a one-bedroom first-floor flat, costs £165,000, while a two-bed, two-bath apartment costs up to £395,000. You can rent from about £1,000 a month, but there are no rental properties currently available.
On the private market, nearby two-bed flats cost between £140,000 and £210,000 to buy.
What’s more, there are extra costs to think about. Part of Bupa, the company charges a purchase or sale fee (you can choose when you pay this – either when you buy, or when you sell). At purchase, the fee is 10pc of your property’s value, so a £250,000 property purchase would actually cost you £275,000. 
If you pay the fee when you sell, the cost depends on how long you have owned the property: less than a year costs 6pc, less than two years costs 8pc and over two years costs 10pc. The fee cost is calculated on the sale price.
Ground rent costs about £300 a year, and the service charge – which covers the general maintenance of the village and its facilities, buildings insurance and emergency call-outs – costs nearly £7,000 a year.
You can opt for extra help, too. For an additional £580 to £640 a week (depending on the size of your property), you can buy Richmond’s “Lifestyle Package”, which pays for your housekeeping, utility bills, laundry and meals.
Pros: average initial purchase price, large range of facilities and activities, and tailored care packages on offer.
Cons: expensive ongoing costs, extra fees at purchase or sale, no gym or pool.
Rounding off the top five most popular retirement villages, according to Lottie, is Royles Lodge – a complex in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. 
There is a large communal lounge for socialising, a concierge service and gardens, and residents have easy access to the neighbouring Marsh Mill Village – a shopping area with a farmer’s market and local pub. 
Royles Lodge is set up for those in retirement who can still live unassisted (although there is a 24/7 emergency call system), so there is no domestic help or personal care available. The idea is that you can live alongside other like-minded retirees.
You can buy a one-bedroom flat for £163,950 and a two-bed for £256,950. A service charge is also payable, typically about £50 a week for a one-bed and £75 a week for a two-bed. By comparison, in nearby Thornton-Cleveleys, two-bedroom flats are on the market for about £100,000.
Pros: located close to nearby conveniences, free car parking space and a guest suite for family and friends.
Cons: limited facilities compared to other retirement villages, no option to increase care if needed.
Like most big financial and life decisions, the answer to whether or not a retirement village is right for you very much depends on your circumstances, and how you want to spend your later years. 
Living in a retirement village is typically more costly than renting or buying privately, and ongoing costs will likely be higher than you would spend outside of a complex.
However, many people think this extra cost is worth it. Retirement villages are purpose-built, so have better accessibility, secure entrances, on-site support and emergency response systems, so your home is effectively “future-proofed” if your mobility were to deteriorate throughout your retirement.
They also come with a built-in community and access to regular day trips and activities, so can be good for social wellbeing. Some will have on-site facilities such as restaurants, pools and spas, helping you continue to do things you enjoy without having to travel.
For most people who like the thought of living in this environment, the main downsides are going to be financial – both now and in the future.
There is always the risk of losing money when you buy a property. Market prices may go up or down due to external factors such as interest rates and the wider economy, and you may struggle to sell any property if you are unlucky with your timings.
However, these issues are compounded with a retirement home. There is a smaller pool of people able to buy your property – it is thought that retirement properties typically take double the length of time to sell than their private market counterparts – and there are additional costs involved in the process.
As a service charge and ground rent still needs to be paid when the property is empty, you or your loved ones will be on the hook for this cost while you are trying to sell. 
In some villages, you will also pay an exit fee (also known as transfer fees, event fees or departure fees) which can be as much as 28pc of the market value of the property.
The Homeowners Alliance said it has heard “horror stories” of owners unable to sell their retirement home for years, and ending up with a fraction of the price after having to cover these charges. If you are looking into a specific retirement village, ask for data on their resale values as well as a full breakdown of costs if you were to sell.
“There are a few things to think about when choosing your retirement village, including your desired location and level of support you need,” said Hannah Karim, care expert at Lottie. 
“Ask about additional charges such as exit fees and the service charge, and thoroughly review the contractual terms and conditions for any property you are considering. 
“Most importantly though, take your time and research each village – this will help you find a property and community that is perfect for your personal care and social needs.”
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