More than 200 Albertans owed hundreds of thousands of dollars for life lease repayment
As a growing number of seniors and their families wait for an Edmonton property developer to repay the money it owes under life-lease contracts, the company says provincial regulations are a new stumbling block.
As of the end of 2024, more than 200 people are in queues for repayment of hundreds of thousands of dollars they each put into a life lease at Christenson Group of Companies retirement homes.
Under the life lease model, residents pay a large lump sum upfront for the right to occupy a unit, plus monthly operating costs. When they die or move out, the initial investment is returned, minus a percentage that the housing operator uses to refurbish the unit.
In the Christenson contracts, a repayment queue begins if more than six per cent of life-lease holders in a building terminate their lease. The company is no longer offering new life leases.
The queue’s ranks have more than doubled since late 2023, when people affected first went public with their concerns. Many are approaching the two- or three-year mark of waiting to get their money back.
Watch | More than 200 waiting for repayment:
Edmonton property developer, Christenson Group of Companies, owes $75 million to former residents of nine retirement homes. And now, the company says provincial regulations could get in the way of a plan to pay them back.
In recent notices to current and former residents, the Christenson Group forecasts being able to repay more people in 2025, after making “significant progress” last year toward a better financial situation.
But in a subsequent letter, company president Greg Christenson warns that could change, with the province now mandating extra interest payments on life-lease entrance fees that aren’t returned within six months.
“As life lease terminations increase, the volume of interest payments will rapidly surpass our available funds, making it impossible to refinance assets or make principal payments toward the queue as previously planned,” he wrote.
“The resulting strain on cash flow will also lead to insolvency for each property with life lease loans, and stop refinancing plans.”
Total owed could break $100M
In total, the Christenson Group owes about $75 million to former residents across nine different buildings. That amount will keep rising, with hundreds more seniors still in life-lease units.
“If we just look at the trend, we will probably break $100 million by this time next year,” said Jim Carey, president of the Alberta Life Lease Protection Society (ALLPS).
The group has gotten more organized over the past year, advocating for a solution. But there’s still no clear answer for when everyone’s time in the queue will finally end.
“Hope has certainly been waning,” Carey said.
“We warned government that this was going to escalate and be a really serious problem for hundreds of seniors.”
Christenson says he’s committed to making sure everyone is repaid.
“The interest rate environment, the Alberta real-estate market and the demand for seniors’ housing continues to improve. So the question isn’t the ability to repay — the question is how long will it take,” he told CBC News.
“And we know that people are very stressed, particularly the estates, or the adult children of the seniors who lived in our buildings.”
Province says life lease operators expected to meet obligations
The Alberta government passed legislation last year with new guard rails for life leases. That includes a time frame for housing operators to repay former life lease residents, or face penalties.
Regulations released in late 2024 set a nine per cent annual interest rate on life-lease entry fees that aren’t repaid within six months, with Alberta housing operators required to pay accrued interest each month.
The rules aren’t retroactive, so they don’t cover many of the Christenson Group life leases already in the queue — something ALLPS vocally took issue with at the time.
But the regulations do apply when it comes to life leases that have been terminated since the legislation took effect in mid-2024, and the ones still to come in the future.
Christenson said he’d like to see more assistance from the provincial government to find a solution.
“I want to emphasize that we actually did not breach any rules, any contracts, and have not to date — including paying the nine per cent [interest],” he said.
Brandon Aboultaif, press secretary for Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally, said in a statement that the government recognizes the “terrible and stressful situation” for people in Christenson Group life leases.
“We expect life lease operators to structure their operations in a way that allows them to meet all their contractual and regulatory obligations, including repaying entrance fees to all life leaseholders and paying interest to life leaseholders where there have been unexpected delays in returning entrance fees,” Aboultaif said.
“We have not seen a repayment plan from the Christenson Group, however we continue to monitor this closely and urge all residents affected by this situation to seek legal advice to discuss their options and what recourse they might take.”
Carey, with ALLPS, said he fears the situation is still nowhere near over, with so many seniors spending their final years worrying about money, and families dealing with estates left in limbo.
“What we really need is the government to stop telling us we’re front of mind, that they’re worried about us, that they care — and do something.”
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