The Healthy Homes legislation has been released by the government and aims to increase the quality of rental accommodation across New Zealand. It is doing so by making certain standards a minimum legal requirement for landlords to meet. The properties we manage are all now insulated making them compliant to the standard required at this point in time, but we wanted to share the updated standards that all rentals must meet so that anyone managing their own rental has the information needed to ensure they comply with the new laws before the deadlines.
Before we dive into the changes to the law, and what this means for private landlords, we wanted to highlight that using a McDonald Real Estate property manager means not having to worry about legislation changes. We keep our ear to the ground and only involve landlords with the parts they have to handle. In the case of the Healthy Homes legislation, this means arranging an assessment on all homes in our portfolio to see what is already compliant and what will need to be addressed. We will then inform landlords of their obligations and arrange for our contracted tradespeople to offer quotes to rectify any instances of non-compliance.
If you’re living overseas and don’t fancy the hassle of dealing with changes in the law then why not request a free property assessment using the button below to see how we could help ease the stress.
The first deadline was July 1st 2019. This was the day that you had to have your rental property insulated by, or alternatively have proof that it can not be practically done. All new tenancy agreements must include an insulation statement that shows you comply. The new part of this legislation is that landlords must also supply a statement of intent to comply with the Healthy Homes Standard within the stated time-frames. If you’re with McDonald Real Estate then we supply this statement to all new tenants from July 2019 on your behalf. It is not something that you can opt-out of and you can’t rent your house out without supplying this.
The next important date is July 1st 2020. From this date, all new, varied (where a new flatmate has moved in) or renewed tenancy agreements must receive a statement of the current level of compliance with the new act.
We are looking to employ an assessor who will be able to assess each property before this date to record this information. Then our landlords will have a clear idea of what they need to do to comply as well as knowing what they already comply with.
July 1st 2021. By this date, you must ensure that your rental property complies with the Healthy Home Standards within 90 days of a new tenancy. Simply speaking if your current tenant gives notice after this date, you have 90 days to be compliant from the date you sign up a new tenant. Those that use McDonald Real Estate will be well on the road with being compliant before this date, as we’ll be working with you to meet the standards between now and July 2021.
July 1st 2024. By this date, all rental homes must comply with the Healthy Homes legislation, without exception. Between 2021 and 2024 the only way that you could get to this date without being compliant is if you have had a long-term tenant for all of this time, which is an unlikely scenario for most.
These changes are nothing to be concerned about, so long as you plan ahead and don’t leave it to the last minute! Often tradesmen will become booked out as the 6,000+ rental homes across Taranaki work to meet the deadlines, so planning ahead really pays dividends.
This doesn’t need to be a stressful undertaking. Whereas it can be daunting tackling these updates on your own, that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams of being a property investor. For as little as 10% a month we can handle all of this hard work for you, as well as to conduct inspections and be the first person a tenant calls if there are any issues.
To speak with one of our property managers, or to receive a no-obligation, free assessment of your property or properties simply click the image below. We also don’t tie you into long-term contracts, we take things month by month so you can even take control of managing your properties at a later date if you want to.
