Churchill Living scraps exit fees in bid to speed up resales

Retirement community developer Churchill Living has announced it has scrapped exit fees as part of a package of new measures to speed up resales. 

This means that owners and their families will no longer be charged a percentage of the property’s sale price when a resident sells or rents out their home.

The later living specialist until now has subjected all its flats to a 1% contingency fee on sale or sublet of the property. Some  are also subject to a further 1% or 2% of the gross sale price which is payable as a “community event fee” to Churchill Retirement Living, to help fund the provision of the communal areas.

The provider said the scrapping of exit fees, which are common in the owner-occupied retirement sector, will “support faster resales for both current and future owners and their families”.

It said it is part of a package of refroms intended to make “retirement living fairer, more transparent, and easier for families to navigate.”

Oher new measures announced include allowing owners who market their unoccupied property exclusively through Churchill’s in-house resales and lettings team to defer service charge payments for up to one year. These charges can be settled on completion at a 2% interest rate.

Meanwhile, the £149m turnover firm said it expand its “refresh and refurbish” staging service to cover kitchen and bathroom upgrades on top of basic cleaning and light redecoration.

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Churchill Living said it is the first major UK retirement living provider to permanently remove all exit fees. A spokesperson declined to reveal detail about the expected financial impact of the decision, saying the business doesn’t “provide commentary on specific figures”.

Spencer McCarthy, chair and chief executive of Churchill Living, said: “By removing exit fees, deferring service charges during resale and helping improve the ongoing value of a property, we’re tackling challenges being voiced about the sector head on. This raft of major changes will be transformative for the industry. People will pay for the property they live in and the services in place - nothing more - just like any other property.

“Life with Churchill is about independence, security, and peace of mind – not only for our owners, but for their families too. Our commitment remains to provide quality, independent living for the over-60s where people can live safely and socially as their needs change.”

The Churchill Sales & Lettings team said it has recruited additional specialists in retirement-property marketing, letting and sales to support the new initiatives.

Churchill Living manages more than 200 developments across the country. It The company recorded a drop in revenue in its most recent accounts from £174m to £149m, as well as a decline in pre-tax profit, from £17.7m to £3.9m. McCarthy at the time said lower consumer confidence had meant a reduction in unit sales from 431 to 400.