Healthy homes, happy tenants.
Do your rental properties meet the Healthy Homes Standards? Here’s all you need to know about making sure your properties or the properties you manage meet the requirements so you don’t get stung.
We can check your property for free!
The Connection Company checks every property we visit to make sure your properties comply with the ventilation and heating standards while we’re there. Rental properties must comply with the Standards from 1 July 2021, or face financial penalties.
The Healthy Homes Guarantee Act 2017 set a standard in five key areas which rental properties must meet, aiming to keep tenants warmer, drier and healthier in the home.
So, what are the five standards?
Heating
Insulation
Ventialtion
Moisture ingress and drainage
Draught stopping
Here at The Connection Company, we work with Property Managers and Investors to make sure you meet the legislative requirements around the heating and ventilation standards.
Heating Standard
The heating standard states that there must be “fixed heating devices, capable of achieving a minimum temperature of at least 18°C in the living room only.” This is in keeping with the World Health Organisation’s minimum standard for a healthy living environment.
What does this mean for you as a property manager or investor?
You must make sure firstly that there is a heating device of some sort in the living rooms of your properties. The current heating solutions in homes may not be suitable to achieve the minimum temperature during the coldest months of the year. The standard does not require bedrooms to have heating devices.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development estimates that “22% of rental homes have no fixed heating in the home and many more homes only have unaffordable or unhealthy heating.” This means establishing what kind of heating is most appropriate to meet the standard, so that your tenants are toasty, year round.
Calculating heating capacity
How do you calculate the capacity of a heater to warm a room of a certain size?
Our team at The Connection Company will help with that on our next visit. We can do these calculations on-site as part of our service, at no extra fee. This usually adds just an extra 10–15 minutes to the call-out.
What types of heating do my properties need?
The acceptable types of heaters include heat-pumps, wood burners, and in cases of smaller apartments, small fixed electric heaters are ok, of a minimum 1.5kw size.
Unflued gas heaters, open fires and electric heaters (except heat pumps) with a heating capacity greater than 2.4 kilowatts will not be accepted in the heating standard. This is because they are considered inefficient, costly or unhealthy to operate. While they can still be used, an alternative option which does meet the standards must also be present in the home.
We can give you advice on the types of heating solutions suitable for your rental properties, according to the size of the living areas and other aspects such as windows and insulation.
Ventilation Standard
What can you expect from the ventilation standard?
The main outcome of this standard is to ensure tenants live in a healthy home without suffering from respiratory illness from damp and mouldy conditions. Another motivating factor for property managers and investors is reducing the damage mould causes to the interior of homes.
What types of ventilation do my properties need?
All bathrooms and kitchens are required to have mechanical extract ventilation, in addition to windows able to be opened in other rooms.
This generally means extractor fans or rangehoods in most cases. These are easy to use and really effective in improving ventilation and reducing mould.
The Connection Company can let you know what options you should consider for your rental properties. Give us a bell and we can make an assessment for you.
