Healthy Homes

To support tenants’ living conditions in New Zealand, the government passed the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act Regulations 2017, which introduced standards that look to make rental homes warmer and drier.

The new Healthy Homes standards came in to effect on 19th May 2019 and include minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties.

This means from the 1st July 2020 landlords will need to include detailed information in their new or renewed tenancy agreements about how their property meets the standards.

PlaceMakers offer the following solutions, with installation available:

Insulation
Heat pumps
Gas fires
Wood fires
Ventilation systems
Heat transfer systems
Central heating systems

Get in contact now as PlaceMakers have all the products you need to get your home up to standard!

HEATING

The main living room must have one or more fixed qualifying heaters, which provide at least the required heating capacity to heat the main living room to at least 18°C and be capable of maintaining this temperature during the coldest days of winter. The new regulations clarify the requirements for heating devices – some will not meet the requirements under the heating standard as they are inefficient, unaffordable or unhealthy.

VENTILATION

Ventilation must include openable windows or doors in each habitable space. The windows or doors must comprise at least 5% of the floor area of that space. An appropriately sized extraction fan or rangehood must be installed in rooms with a bath or shower or indoor cooktop.

DRAINAGE

The standards reinforce existing law that says landlords must have adequate drainage and guttering.

INSULATION

The minimum level of ceiling and underfloor insulation must either meet the 2008 Building Code, or (for existing ceiling insulation) have a minimum thickness of 120mm and be in reasonable condition with no dampness, damage or displacement.