Affordable retirement living

Property charges

In addition to your purchase or rental costs, each home is subject to on-going charges, which may vary according to your ExtraCare retirement scheme or village and type of tenure. Charges include:

Service charge

There are costs associated with maintaining the communal areas, which include repairs to fire alarms, entry phone systems and lighting as well as communal area cleaning, waste disposal and pest control. Staff time for the administration of these services is also included.

Management & maintenance charge

(Included in rental costs for rented apartments and will be a separate charge for purchase and shared ownership homes.) This covers some tasks associated with the day to-day maintenance of your home and the management time associated with these tasks. The charge also includes your building insurance (but not contents insurance).

Community charges

(In most locations.) This is a contribution towards the running of the Wellbeing Service, activity costs including staffing, a contribution towards the Café/Bistro where applicable, 24-hour access to staff support in an emergency and costs associated with running the communal areas. The names given to these charges vary between locations. Full details of the property charges will be given to you prior to making an application.

Amenity charge

This includes all heat, light and power to each home; all water and sewerage services associated with each home.

More information on costs

Lark Hill Village bungalow infront of a pond with a fountain

Shared ownership

As part of our mixed tenure model at ExtraCare, 33.3% of our retirement properties for sale are shared ownership. This means that someone aged 55 and over can purchase a share of the property, ranging from 40% to 95%, and pay rent on the remaining share owned by ExtraCare.

We recently sat down with the daughter of a couple who lived at Solihull Village, and she told us about their positive experience of purchasing a shared ownership retirement property:

“This was something that really appealed because my parents were in a situation whereby they owned their own property in Wales but unfortunately were tied into an equity release situation. They could not have afforded to buy a new apartment outright so the shared ownership was a great option for them.”

Read the full story here

Claim benefits you didn’t know you were entitled to

When you apply to live at an ExtraCare location you will be invited to meet with our Welfare Benefits Advisor to check if you are eligible for financial support through the benefits system. This could help with your housing or living costs, making sure we secure maximum financial support for your application now, or if your circumstances change in the future.

In recent years our benefits team have accessed over £4m in benefits for our residents and up to £1.4m in unclaimed benefits!

Meet our Welfare Benefits Advisors

A couple looking at their laptop together

View all

Budget Concerns? Why Retirement Villages Are Becoming the Smart Choice for Today’s Older Population

Is the latest Budget bringing more financial questions for the older population than answers? IRCs could offer stable costs, flexible housing options and built-in support, making them an appealing option in a tougher economic retirement climate.

December 3, 2025

The value of peace of mind in retirement

In this article, we delve into the five reasons why finding peace of mind is so important in retirement.

July 10, 2024

Did you know you can buy ExtraCare retirement properties through our shared ownership scheme?

We recently sat down with the daughter of a couple who lived at Solihull Village, and she told us all about their positive experience of purchasing a shared ownership retirement property.

February 23, 2024

How are retirement villages putting safety and security at the forefront?

We understand the importance of feeling safe in your home, so we’ve put together this article about how retirement villages in the UK are putting safety and security at the forefront.

October 3, 2023

Disputing the misconceptions: Retirement villages are affordable and not just for the wealthy

In this article we aim to dispel the myths and shed light on the affordability and accessibility retirement villages offer to people from all walks of life.

August 21, 2023