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The Association for Senior Communities (ASC) was a natural development of the Interest Group for Retirement Villages, which was established in 1994 by a group of volunteers. It was founded to be a voice for retirement villages in the new South Africa.

Since the inception of the interest group, the landscape of the retirement housing facilities industry has changed drastically and faces many ongoing challenges. The retirement housing industry operates mainly in a legal vacuum, mainly because there is not a single piece of legislation that oversees retirement villages. For example, there are around 40 plus different and in some cases outdated and confusing laws that impact on the development and management of retirement villages. One key impact factor which causes most of the long-term challenges is that a developer of a retirement estate does not require any form of accreditation or registration. Today we experience over and over again the impact of this single factor. There are many challenges left to governing bodies to find their solutions, and often to the detriment of residents and the sustainability of the facility. If one remembers that most of the management Boards are mostly made up of retired persons, it becomes obvious that they will depend on good and sound advice.

To deal with the many challenges, the management of the interest group built up collective knowledge in terms of managing retirement villages successfully to such an extent that the Association for Senior Communities culminated from it in 2018. In 2021 The Association saw yet another change of name Association for Senior Communities (also known as ASC). The ASC decided to reach out to all corners of South Africa and therefore become a much more representative voice.

In the absence of adequate resources and support from the authorities to ensure that relevant legislation is adhered to and residents are properly protected, self-regulation is becoming increasingly imperative. Furthermore, it is very important that the Association be involved to develop and apply accreditation standards and norms of retirement facilities for South Africa.

You are invited to join the Association for Senior Communities (ASC) and help build a new dispensation for retirement housing in South Africa.