Healthy Homes NZ, All you need to know
What are NZ healthy homes standards?
In 2019 the government passed Healthy Homes legislation for all landlords to follow. This guideline helps protect the rights of tenants by creating a standard guideline of what a safe & healthy home is considered. All rental properties should be warm, dry, and well-ventilated. The 5 key areas of Healthy Home legislation are heating, insulation, ventilation, draught stopping, and moisture ingress or drainage.
What are the requirements to have a healthy home?
Heating
The heating legislation requires that every rental property has a fixed heating device installed in the main living area that is properly maintained and in good working order. This device should be able to heat the entire room to at least 18 C and be energy efficient. Some compliant heating options available are heat pumps, wood burners, or electric heaters.
Betta Property Compliance is able to offer a comprehensive heating assessment to ensure your property meets the Healthy Homes standards. Your detailed report will include recommendations for any required heating upgrades or repairs.
Insulation
The Healthy Homes standard requires that rental properties have underfloor and ceiling insulation that meets the required R-value. The R-value measures how well your insulation can resist heat flow and this varies depending on the location of the property.
All property insulation must be in good condition, have no gaps or damage, and be installed correctly. Betta Property Compliance offers insulation assessments to ensure your rental property meets the legislative requirements.
Ventilation
The ventilation standard requires rental properties to have ventilation in place that prevents mould and dampness. There should also be suitable airflow throughout the property. Rental properties or homes should all have ventilation in the laundries, bathrooms, and kitchens. Ventilation systems must be in good working order and all extraction fans must be installed correctly.
Betta Property Compliance offers ventilations assessments that help ensure that your rental property meets the required ventilation standards.
Drainage and moisture ingress
To align with drainage and moisture ingress, rental properties must have an efficient drainage system to help prevent rainfall from entering the property. Gutters and downpipes should be checked to ensure they are working correctly. Any leaks or water damage identified should be scheduled to promptly get repaired. Bathrooms and laundries should also have all waterproofing measures in place so that mould does not become an issue.
At Betta Property Compliance, we assess drainage & moisture ingress to ensure that rental properties meet the required standard.
Draught stopping
Rental properties should have no unreasonable gaps or holes that could cause draughts. All doors and windows should have seals that are in good condition. Any gaps or holes found in walls or floors should also be repaired. Landlords should make sure that all repairs and upgrades are promptly made in order to comply with the Healthy Homes Standard.
Betta Property Compliance assesses draught stopping as part of our Healthy Home report.
What are the consequences of not having a healthy home assessment done?
Landlords are required by legislation to meet the Healthy Homes Standard and there are consequences if the appropriate measure has not been taken. If a landlord is non-compliant, their tenant can contact the Tenancy Tribunal for monetary compensation or for a work order to be established. There may also be a penalty passed on to the landlord of up to $4,000 which is typically paid to the tenant.
It is important that landlords are proactive to ensure their property’s compliance & take the guidelines for Healthy Homes seriously. Betta Property Compliance can help with a healthy home assessment to provide you with identifying any non-compliance issues and the remedies required to meet the requirements of the law.
How long do landlords have to make healthy home fixes?
Landlords have 120 days. Any landlord that starts or renews a rental property tenancy after the 28th of August 2022 must ensure their property meets the Healthy Homes standard by day 120. Any registered community housing provider and Kāinga Ora have a longer period in place and will need to comply by 1st of July 2024.
Betta Property Compliance partners with AA to deliver healthy homes assessments
We are proud to announce our partnership with AA insurance as a Healthy Homes Inspection service. Our trusted and reliable assessments have helped landlords nationwide identify what is needed in their properties in order to comply with New Zealand’s Healthy Home Standards. The nationwide inspectors are certified and our reports are completed to a high standard. Our many partnerships with government agencies, large property management companies, and AA Insurance is a reflection of our reputation in the industry.