The healthy home standards will make significant changes to the quality of New Zealand rental accommodation and bring with them long-term positive impacts for both tenants and landlords alike. Tenants will experience the benefits that come from living in a warmer, drier home and landlords can expect lower long-term maintenance costs, by raising the quality of their property.
The standards create specific and minimum requirements for all rental properties in respect of heating, insulation, ventilation, draught stopping, moisture ingress, and drainage. French Electrical can help with servicing three of those requirements – heating, ventilation, and draught stopping. There is significant detail to each standard and they lay out clearly what is required of all landlords both in respect of the rental property itself, and reporting of this detail within any tenancy agreement.
Landlords must ensure they are aware of their requirements in order to prevent the risk of future penalties. At any stage, you can seek further details by visiting tenancy.govt.nz
Overview Of The Standards
There must be one or more fixed heater(s) that can directly heat the main living room to at least 18°C. Certain heating devices that are inefficient, unaffordable, or unhealthy will not meet the requirements of this standard.
There must be windows, skylights, or doors that open to the outside in the living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedrooms. These must be able to be fixed in the open position and comprise at least five percent of the room’s floor area. There must be extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms that vent to the outside.
There must be adequate drainage, guttering, and downpipes. Rental properties that have an enclosed subfloor must have a ground moisture barrier (if it’s possible to install one).
Landlords must block any unreasonable gaps and holes in walls, ceilings, windows, floors, and doors that cause draughts. Open fireplaces must be blocked unless the tenant and landlord agree otherwise.
Private Compliance Timeframes
There are already legal requirements for the healthy home standards in place, however, landlords must meet all other minimum standards within 90 days of the start of any new or renewed tenancy from 1 July 2021.
If you have a long-term existing tenancy in a place where no renewals have occurred, you will still be required to meet the standards, no later than 1 July 2025. See below for the complete compliance timeframe.
1 July 2021
All private rental properties must comply with the healthy homes standards within 90 days of a new or renewed tenancy (e.g. any rental property owned by a private landlord).
1 July 2025
All private rental properties must comply with the healthy homes standards.
From Small Fixes To Wiring New Homes
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