Healthy Homes Assessment Hataitai

Rental Property Expert Advice

Healthy Homes Assessment Services

Did you be aware that the Healthy Homes Standards came into in force on July 1, 2021? Landlords must make sure that their Hataitai 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 must be completely conforming by the 1st July 2024.

The areas covered in the Healthy Homes Standards are:

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

We can evaluate your rental property and determine whether it satisfies the NZ Healthy Homes and Residential Tenancy Acts requirements. After the assessment, we’ll advise you or your property manager about any work required. requirements to be completed and provide an evaluation report with all the information required to complete your tenancy agreement’s Healthy Home Statement of Compliance.

Inability to meet the standards to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards is a breach in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, and landlords who are not in compliance could face fines of as much as $7,200 and additional healthier homes related fines.

We’re fully independent assessors of rental properties, we are fully qualified 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, when a new or renewed tenancy is signed for a Hataitai rental property, all Healthy Homes compliance work have to be finished by the end of 90 days.

Beginning on July 1st, 2021, if a new or renewed tenancy is signed on a Hataitai rental property, all Healthy Homes compliance work must be taken care of inside of 90 days.

Failure to comply with each of Healthy Homes Standards inside of the expected timeframe can result in penalties of up to $7200. Furthermore, if a current Healthy Homes Statement of Compliance isn’t incorporated within a new, renewed or revised tenancy agreement, there may be an additional fine or violation fee.

Every tenant is entitled to request information about the Healthy Homes Standard and how they relate to the building they are living in. If the landlord or property manager fails to supply the necessary information within 21 days from getting the notice, the tenant can receive an infringement letter and be fined as high as $750.

Furthermore, there’s an additional fine of approximately $900 for property owners or property managers who offer a false or inaccurate Healthy Homes Statement of Compliance or information. The person who is responsible to pay this fine is the one who is named on the lease agreement as the one who is letting the property out, so it could be the landlord’s name or the company that manages the property.

All information in the Statement of Compliance requirements to be accurate when the tenancy contract is executed, and it should be kept updated during the entire tenancy, as relevant work gets completed.

It is crucial to keep in mind that landlords who own multiple rental properties may face additional fines for non-compliance. The most severe penalties are given for serious breaches. Landlords with six or more properties could receive fines of up to $50,000, and even as high as $100,000 for hearing claims.

In the end, a failure to comply with the Healthy Homes requirements can hit your wallet resulting in huge fines, in addition to having to continue to comply. Don’t take a chance with your rental property Call us today and make arrangements to have a house evaluation performed on the rental property you are renting.

See the full details for details on Residential Tenancies Act landlords responsibilities.

Healthy homes are important

Why is Healthy Homes Compliance so important?

About 1 in 3 households the property in New Zealand and Hataitai, and research shows us that these rental homes are more likely to be colder, older, have less effective heating and tend to be of poorer quality than owner occupied properties.

Moldy, damp and cold houses are associated with negative health outcomes, especially for illnesses such as colds and flu, asthma and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, people who reported four or more major issues with their housing often have low life satisfaction and reduced psychological well-being.

Improving the quality of Hataitai rental property will allow tenants to enjoy improved physical and mental health and reduce the interruption to learning, work and daily life due to illnesses. Your investment will also be better secured from mildew, mould and damp damages, which means less costs of maintenance in the long-term.

The Healthy Homes Standard is a listing of minimum and specific standards for heating, insulation Ventilation and Ventilation and Drainage, and Draught Control in Hataitai rental properties.

Begin now by calling about getting a Hataitai Healthy Home assessment on your rental property right now.

Unreasonable Gaps & Holes

Draught Stopping Hataitai

Draughts are a major cause of lower temperatures in homes. A cold house costs more to heat, which means wasting money and energy.

If a draught is felt from unreasonable gaps or holes or holes, it needs to be closed.

What are the most unreasonable gaps or holes?

If you are able to feel external air entering or a clear draught from a gap or hole and you can feel it, it’s probably a gap or crack that needs sealing in any way. Large cracks and gaps should be fixed permanently. The gaps that exceed 3mm that let air into or out into your house require to be sealed. For example, if the open fireplace isn’t used it can cause draughts and must be sealed off. Property managers and landlords are accountable for making sure such draughts are eliminated whenever imaginable.

You don’t need to block off gaps or holes which are part of the building. For instance, small gaps around windows and doors could be required to allow for movement of the building as the house warms and cools so that they are able to be closed and opened instead of than securing. We will test every window and door during an Healthy Homes assessment of your rental property.

Find the complete specifications for the Healthy Homes draught stopping requirements.

The proper heating equipment is crucial to ensure well-being homes

Heating Hataitai

Rental properties in Hataitai must have a fixed source of heat that can warm the principal or the biggest living room to at least 18degC even on the most coldest days of the year. This is the minimum temperature indoors recommended by the World Health Organisation for people’s physical well-being as well as their mental health.

The source of heating requirements that it be permanently fixed (i.e. not portable) that is, at least 1.5 Kilowatts in heating capacity, and must meet the minimum required heating capacity to heat the living space in general. A Heating Assessment Tool may be used to check if the installed heater(s) are adequate or whether you will need to top up with a new heater. Fires that are open and unflued heaters like small portable LPG bottle heaters are not considered to be safe heating options in the Healthy Homes Standard.

If the heating system you offer is an electric heater or heat pump, then it must be equipped with an thermostat. This will help make your heating more consistent and efficient. For most houses, larger heaters that are fixed, such as heat pumps, wood burners pellet burners, flued gas heaters are necessary. However, in some cases like apartments with small spaces, a smaller fixed electric heater may suffice.

If your living space already has a central heating source, such as an air conditioner, it might just need some additional energy to meet the standards. Certain kinds of heaters aren’t able to be used to comply with the quality as they are either expensive, inefficient and/or unhealthy to run.

Find the complete specifications regarding details on Healthy Homes heating requirements.

Ventilation Hataitai

Each living space within the rental property should have at least one openable window or exterior door to provide natural ventilation. Additionally, areas with high moisture areas such as kitchens and bathrooms need to have an externally vented extractor fan that can remove moisture.

A ventilation quality is about recognising the fact that dry air is more easy to heat and heat, and a well ventilated rental property is less likely to be a victim of damp and mould.

Living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and dining rooms are considered to be liveable spaces. Connecting spaces such as the hallways are not liveable and therefore do not need an opening door or window.

Each door, window or skylight requirements to be able of opening to the outside, but remain set in an opening position, allowing to circulate fresh air as well as ventilation.

All kitchens and bathrooms, and any other room in your home with shower, bath or cooktop, or any other moisture-producing item will require suitable extractor fans which are vented out to the outside. This Healthy Homes Assessment service will make sure there is sufficient ventilation in each livable space that includes extractor fans that are suitable for areas that are high in moisture.

See the full details of the Healthy Homes ventilation standard.

A dry and warm home is a healthy house

Insulation Hataitai

The insulation of the ceiling and underfloor has been compulsory for all rent homes from 1 July 2019. All landlords and property managers must ensure that the insulation is in line with current quality. In some cases, current ceiling insulation, or the insulation of the sub floor space might need to be replaced or replaced.

A properly insulated home will reduce the risk of condensation and lower the chance of mould and damp, and will also make more easy for the household to hold heat.

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

The "R" signifies thermal resistance and is a gauge of how well the insulation can withstand heat flow. The more R-value is higher, the more effective the insulation.

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

Learn more about this Healthy Homes insulation standard.

Hataitai Moisture Ingress & Drainage

Keeping your rental property safe from moisture isn’t just about the inside of the building but you must ensure there is somewhere to allow surface, rain as well as groundwater to move and stop it from coming into the building. When it concerns damp and moisture it is usually the things you don’t notice that could become a major issue and end up causing damages to your investment and harming your tenant’s health.

Rental properties must have efficient drainage to remove storm water, surface water, and ground water, which includes an appropriate runoff or outfall. Making sure that water is able to go and that it isn’t allowed to remain beneath buildings is a vital aspect of maintaining your property’s dry.

Alongside a drainage system to prevent the ingress of moisture, if your rental has an enclosed gap between floorboards and surface, a ground moisture barrier must be put in place when it is reasonably practicable to install it.

An underground moisture barrier generally a polythene sheet laid over the ground, in order to block any moisture in the ground from accumulating into the property. It also assists in preventing from causing damage to the flooring insulation.

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

Is your rental a Healthy Home?

Rental Property Home Assessments Hataitai

The areas of rental property that are affected through the Healthy Homes Standards in Hataitai include each:

• Living Room
• Bedroom
• Dining Room
• Bathrooms
• Kitchen
• Laundry

Checking Your Healthy Home?

Home Assessments Hataitai for Rental Properties

There are numerous things to look over when conducting a house inspection to determine whether your rental property meets all the basic requirements of Healthy Homes Standards. Some examples include:

• Does the subfloor space well-insulated? Is there a ground moisture barrier in place?
• Does the ceiling insulation need replacement or topping?
• Do you think the heating system has enough capacity?
• Does the water flow properly and is there draught-stopping?
• Does the house has enough ventilation, including extractor fans?

The repercussions of not having a Healthy home in relation to regulations under the Residential Tenancies Act and consequently falling on the wrong side of an Tenancy solutions ruling can be extremely costly for property managers and landlords. For specialist guidance, contact us today to book your rental properties home evaluation.