Change is coming to New Zealand homes and new regulations will have a significant impact on the rental market. New healthy homes standards were announced in February 2019 by Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford. Hometech offers innovative, cost-effective solutions that will help landlords meet these new challenges.
The Healthy Homes Guarantee Act passed in 2017 allowed for the development of standards to significantly improve the quality of rental housing in New Zealand. The detailed regulations will be finalised in the next few months.
From 1 July 2021, private landlords must ensure that their rental properties comply with the standards within 90 days of any new tenancy. On this date, all boarding houses must also comply with the healthy homes standards. By 1 July 2023 all Housing New Zealand houses and registered Community Housing Providers houses must comply with the healthy homes standards. All rental properties in New Zealand will be required to meet the Healthy Homes Standards by 1 July 2024.
The new rules set minimum standards for heating, insulation and ventilation. Regarding the latter, rental homes must have the right size extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms, and opening windows in the living room, dining room, kitchen and bedrooms.
Mechanical ventilation, provided by extractor fans or rangehoods, is easy to use and noticeably improves the ventilation in a home, reducing the incidence of mould forming. Removing damp air also makes home heating more efficient and cheaper, because less electricity is required.
These changes come at a time of marked skills shortages in the New Zealand construction industry. The new standards and tight timeframes will generate significant additional demand from rental accommodation owners seeking to become compliant.
Hometech is able to help by supplying and installing extract ventilation that meets New Zealand’s building standards.The extract ventilation products offered include systems for either one or two rooms as well as a choice of rangehoods featuring BRANZ-appraised flashings (BRANZ 665 (2017)).
Learn more about the new healthy homes standards at: https://hud.govt.nz
Discover Hometech systems for individual rooms, complete homes and the rangehoods it offers at
