Healthy Homes Standards Assesments

Healthy Homes Assessments

We provide Healthy Homes Standards Assesments thoughout the North Island including the Bay of Plenty, Auckland, Waikato and Coromandel.

Call our experienced licensed team on 0800 005 321 to arrange your assesment now.

‍

What do you need to know about the Healthy Homes Standards?

Here at ATS, our Mission is to Keep Kiwi Homes Safe. We were asked by a few of our amazing clients if we would extend the way that we achieve this and add a Healthy Homes Standards Assessment Programme to our services. How could we say no! We quickly built the Programe and brought it to life – the response from our clients’ has been amazing! We have huge numbers of Property Management Companies and Private Landlords coming on board daily. We have found that the key reason that client’s come on board with ATS and join our Healthy Homes Standards Assessment Programme is due to their recognising what is actually involved with the Healthy Homes Standards requirements. The assessment itself is challenging to conduct accurately, which is why here at ATS we only use our own inhouse qualified builders for all assessments! We have also heard that the ability to pass on the liability of the assessment to us is something that they really love!

As you may be aware, the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019 came into effect on the 1 July 2019. These standards affect all rental properties in New Zealand. The Healthy Homes Standards are designed to set the baseline requirements that will ensure a safe and comfortable home.

All rental properties are governed by the Healthy Homes Standards and must satisfy the varying deadline requirements in order to comply. While some of the standards are relatively quick and easy to check for yourself, others can be far more difficult and may require specialist advice.

The Healthy Homes Standards address five key areas:

‍

Insulation

New insulation must meet the 2008 Building Code or for existing ceiling insulation must be 120mm thick.

Heating

Landlords must provide one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room to a maintained temperature of at least 18 degrees Celsius.

Ventilation

Rental homes must have openable windows in the living room, dining room, kitchen and bedrooms. Kitchens and bathrooms must also have extractor fans.

Moisture Ingress

Rental properties must have efficient drainage for the removal of storm water, surface water and ground water. Rental properties with an enclosed sub-floor space must have a ground moisture barrier.

Draught Stopping

Landlords must make sure the property doesn’t have unreasonable gaps or holes in walls, ceilings, windows, skylights, floors and doors which cause noticeable draughts. All unused open fireplaces closed off or their chimneys must be blocked to prevent draughts.

The timeframe for compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards is varied, however here is an overview of the relevant compliance deadlines:

  • 1 July 2019: Must meet existing 2016 requirements.
  • 1 July 2020: New/Varied Tenancy Agreements to include information on the property’s current assessment against the Five Healthy Homes Standards.
  • 1 July 2021: All new/varied tenancy agreements must comply with all Healthy Homes Standards within 90 days of the tenancy/variation commencing.
  • 1 July 2024: All rental properties must be compliant.

To ensure that your property complies with the Healthy Homes Standards, give us a call today.

‍