Healthy Homes Assessment Aotea

Rental Property Expert Advice

Healthy Homes Assessment Services

Did you not know that Healthy Homes Standards came into effect on the 1st July 2021? Landlords are now required to ensure that their Aotea rental properties meet the minimum Healthy Homes Standards within 90 days of the start of any new or renewed tenancy, and all private rental properties are required to be fully conforming by the 1st July 2024.

The areas that are covered by the Healthy Homes Standards are:

• Draught Stopping
• Heating
• Insulation
• Ventilation
• Moisture Ingress & Drainage

We will assess your rental property to check whether it satisfies the NZ Healthy Homes and Residential Tenancy Acts requirements. After assessing, we will advise you or your property manager of any tasks required. needs to be completed and offer an evaluation report with all the information required for your tenancy agreement’s Healthy Home Statement of Compliance.

Failure to comply with the requirements of the Healthy Homes Standards is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, and any landlord found to not conforming to the standards could be held accountable for up to $7,200 plus additional healthier homes associated fines.

We are fully independent assessors of rental property, in addition, we’re completely certified to evaluate both Healthy Homes and Homefit.

Call Now (04) 280 6779

Rental Property Healthy Homes Fines

Fines for Failing to Comply

From the 1st of July in 2021, once a new or renewed tenancy is signed on an Aotea rental property, all Healthy Homes compliance work need to be completed inside of 90 days.

From the 1st of July in 2021, if a new or renewed Tenancy is signed for the Aotea rental property, all Healthy Homes compliance work must be finished within 90 days.

Failure to meet one of the Healthy Homes Standards within the expected timeframe can result in an amount of $7200. Additionally, if a existing Healthy Homes Statement of Compliance isn’t incorporated within an updated, renewed, or revised tenancy agreement, there may be an additional fine or violation fee.

Anyone can request information regarding the Healthy Homes Standard and how they are related to the house they live in. If the landlord or property manager fails to provide the required information within 21 days of being informed of the request, they may receive an infringement notice and be fined as high as $750.

Furthermore, there’s also a penalty of approximately $900 for landlords or property managers providing a false or false Healthy Homes Compliance Statement or information. The person who is responsible for this fine is the person who is named on the tenancy agreement as the one who is renting the property and it could be the name of the landlord as well as the property management company.

All information in the Statement of Compliance requirements to be accurate at the time that the tenancy agreement is executed, and it is updated throughout the duration of the tenancy when any related work is completed.

It’s important to be aware that a landlord who own several rental properties can face more severe penalties for not complying. The harshest penalties are handed down for severe violations. Those who have more than six properties could receive fines of up to $50,000, and as much as $100,000 in hearings.

It is clear that failure to adhere to your Healthy Homes requirements can hit your wallet hard, resulting in massive fines as well as still being required to adhere to the regulations. Don’t take a chance with your rental property, contact us today and arrange to have a house assessment done on your rental property.

Get the full description of this law. Residential Tenancies Act landlords responsibilities.

Healthy homes are important

What are the reasons why Healthy Homes Compliance so Important?

About 1 in 3 households homes in New Zealand and Aotea, and research has shown that these rental houses are most likely to be colder, older, have less efficient heating, and generally are of lower quality than houses that are owned by the owner.

Cold, damp and mouldy houses can have negative health results, specifically for illnesses like colds, influenza, asthma, and cardiovascular conditions. Additionally, those who reported four or more key issues with their housing often have poor life satisfaction and lower mental health.

Improving the standard of Aotea rental property can help tenants enjoy better mental and physical health as well as lessen interruption to learning, work and living because of illness. Your investment is also safeguarded from mildew, mould and damp , which means lower maintenance costs over the long term.

The Healthy Homes Standards are a list of specific and minimum standards for Heating, Insulation, Ventilation, Moisture Ingress and Drainage, as well Draught Control for Aotea rental properties.

Contact us now to discuss having a Aotea Healthy Home assessment on your rental property today.

Unreasonable Gaps & Holes

Draught Stopping Aotea

Draughts are a major cause of less temperature in households. A damp house is more expensive to heat, which completed jobs in wasting money and energy.

If a draught is felt through gaps that are too large or holes or holes, it requirements to be sealed.

What are the most unreasonable gaps or holes?

If you can feel external air coming in or an unobstructed draught coming from a gap or hole that is, it’s likely a crack or an opening that needs sealing in the way you can. Large cracks and gaps should be sealed permanently. The gaps that exceed 3mm that let air in or out of the home require seals. In the case of an open fireplace isn’t being used, it can cause draughts and should be blocked from. Property managers and landlords are responsible for making sure that these draughts are stopped as much as possible.

There is no require to cover up holes or gaps which are part of the building. For instance, small gaps around doors and windows may be required to allow for the movement of the building as the household gets warmer and cooler, to allow them to be opened and closed rather than being stuck. We will examine all doors and windows as part of our Healthy Homes assessment of your rental property.

Get the complete information regarding the Healthy Homes draught stopping requirements.

A good heating system is important to ensure healthy homes

Heating Aotea

Rental properties in Aotea require a reliable source of heat that can heat the living space to at least 18 degrees Celsius, even on the most coldest days of the year. This is the minimum temperature indoors suggested by the World Health Organisation for people’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

The heating source needs to be fixed (i.e. not portable), at least 1.5 Kilowatts in heating capacity, and must meet the minimum heating capacity needed to heat the living space in general. A Heating Assessment Tool can be used to check if the existing fix heater(s) are sufficient or if you’ll require to top up with an additional heater. Unflued combustion and open fire heaters, such as the portable LPG bottle heaters aren’t considered to be acceptable heating options for The Healthy Homes Standard.

If the heating system you provide is electric heating or heat pump, it needs to include the thermostat. This will help make the heating more consistent and efficient. For the majority of houses, bigger heaters that are fixed, such as wood burners, heat pumps pellet burners, flued gas heaters are needed. However, in some cases like small apartment buildings the smaller fixed electric heater might be enough.

If your living space already has a fixed heating source like the heat pump, it might just require some additional energy to make sure it meets the requirements. Certain types of heaters cannot be used to meet the quality as they are either expensive, inefficient and/or unhealthy to run.

See the full details for the Healthy Homes heating needs.

Ventilation Aotea

Each liveable space in a rental house must have at least one openable windows or an exterior door to offer natural ventilation. In addition, humid spaces like kitchens and bathrooms must have a suitable externally vented extractor to get rid of moisture.

This ventilation quality is about recognising that dry air will be easier to heat and heat, and a well ventilated rental property is less likely to be a victim of mould and damp.

Bedrooms, living rooms kitchens, and dining rooms are considered liveable spaces. Spaces that connect, such as the hallway aren’t liveable and are not need an opening window or door.

Each door, window or the skylight requirements to be able to open to the outside while remaining set in an opening position in order to allow to circulate fresh air as well as ventilation.

All bathrooms and kitchens as well as any other space in your home with a bath, shower cooker or any other water-generating appliance will require adequate extractor fans that can be vented to the outside. This Healthy Homes Assessment service will ensure that there is sufficient air circulation in every living space with the right extractor fan in areas of high moisture.

Learn more about the Healthy Homes ventilation standard.

A dry and warm home is a healthy house

Insulation Aotea

The insulation of the ceiling and underfloor is required on all rental houses since July 1, 2019. All landlords and property managers are required to make sure that the insulation meets the new quality. In some cases, current ceiling insulation, or the insulation of the subfloor space might require to be filled with or replaced.

A well-insulated house will help to control condensation and lessen the likelihood of mould and dampness and it will make much easier to allow the home to retain the heat.

Insulation needs to meet the R-values that are appropriate for your region.

The "R" signifies thermal resistance and it is a measurement of how well insulation withstands heat flow. The higher the R-value, the better the insulation.

• Zone 1 Zone 1 Auckland & Northland Ceiling R 2.9, underfloor R 1.3
• Zone 2 – all of the North Island except Taupo and the Central Plateau – ceiling R 2.9 and floor R 1.3
• Zone 3 - North Island Taupo, Central Plateau and all of the South Island – ceiling R 3.3 (underfloor R 1.3

Check out the complete details of this Healthy Homes insulation standard.

Aotea Moisture Ingress & Drainage

Protecting your rental property from the effects of moisture isn’t just a matter of what’s inside the building; you have to ensure there is somewhere for surface, rain as well as groundwater to move and prevent it from getting into the building. When it is about damp and water, it is frequently what you don’t see that can become a big problem and cause damage to your investment as well as harming the tenant’s health.

Rental properties should be equipped with efficient drainage to eliminate the stormwater and surface waters, and ground water, including the proper outfall or runoff. Making sure that water has a proper place to go, and it can’t linger underneath the structures is a crucial aspect of keeping your property dry.

Alongside an irrigation system to stop moisture ingress, if your rental has an enclosed gap between the floor and ground, a ground moisture barrier must be put in place when it is reasonably practicable to do so.

Ground moisture barriers are usually a sheet of polythene that is placed over the ground, to block any moisture that is present in the ground from accumulating into the building. It also helps prevent water damage to the floor insulation.

Find out all the details of The Healthy Homes moisture ingress and drainage quality.

Is your rental a Healthy Home?

Rental Property Home Assessments Aotea

The areas of rental property that are affected by The Healthy Homes Standards in Aotea include each:

• Living Rooms
• Bedrooms
• Dining Room
• Bathrooms
• Kitchen
• Laundry

Checking Your Healthy Home?

Home Assessments Aotea for Rental Properties

There are numerous things you should look for when conducting a house evaluation to determine if your rental property meets all the basic requirements of Healthy Homes Standards. A few examples are:

• Does the subfloor space covered in insulation and is there a ground moisture barrier in place?
• Does the ceiling insulation require topping up or replacing?
• Does the heat pump have sufficient capacity?
• Are there enough drainage and stopping of draughts?
• Does the house have enough air circulation, including extractor fans?

The repercussions of not having a Healthy home that is in compliance with lawful Residential Tenancies Act and consequently getting on the wrong side of a tenant solutions ruling can be extremely costly for landlords and property managers. For professional advice get in touch today to schedule your rental property home assessment.