The deadline by which landlords must provide a Healthy Homes Standards compliance statement was moved from 1 July 2020 to 1 December 2020 in response to COVID-19 events.
With this deadline fast approaching, we thought it timely to look at what New Zealand landlords need to know to meet their responsibilities and legal obligations.
What do landlords have to do by the 1 December 2020 deadline?
After 1 December 2020, landlords must provide a Healthy Homes compliance statement for any new, varied, or renewed tenancy agreements. The statement will show how their rental property measures up against the Healthy Homes Standards and must be informed by an assessment performed by an expert.
This current level of compliance statement will be attached to the tenancy agreement to show tenants how their landlord is taking steps toward being compliant with the Healthy Homes Standards.
What healthy homes compliance deadlines do landlords need to be aware of?
Future dates private landlords need to be aware of in regard to the Healthy Homes Standards include:
1 December 2020 — Private landlords must provide a Healthy Homes Standards compliance statement for new, varied, or renewed tenancy agreements.
1 July 2021 — Private landlords must ensure rental properties comply with healthy homes standards within 90 days of any new tenancy. This means any non-compliances identified during the assessments and recorded in Healthy Homes Standards compliance statements need to have been rectified by this date.
What are the Healthy Homes Standards?
Residential rental properties represent one third (or around 600,000) of New Zealand households, and research shows that this rental stock is of a lower standard than the owner-occupied homes. In some cases, this means tenants are subject to cold and damp living conditions, which can negatively impact their health and put an unnecessary toll on our national health system.
The Healthy Homes Standards are being introduced as minimum standards for five key elements that make rental homes healthy for tenants: heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping.
Read an in depth breakdown of the standards for each element.
How are Irelands helping landlords comply with Healthy Homes Standards?
As we’ve mentioned here previously, we have been taking a proactive approach to the Healthy Homes Standards deadlines. We’re using the services of home energy experts; Tradetech and G Force, who will be completing Healthy Homes Standards assessments at the rental properties we manage.
Our landlords can then use the Tradetech or G Force assessment in their tenancy agreement statements, required as of 1 December 2020, to record the property’s level of compliance and any work still necessary to meet the Healthy Homes Standards by the 1 July 2021 deadline.
Get in touch with us for an informal chat if you’re unsure about how to meet your Healthy Homes obligations.
Image: ‘Healthy homes protest’ by Harry by license CC BY 2.0.