Healthy Homes Inspections Best Left To Data Not People

As the government continues to update parts of its Healthy Homes standard, Tether chief executive Brandon van Blerk said independent inspection is critical if most rental homes are to reach a minimum health standard.

In April, the Human Rights Commission released the findings of its inquiry into the Healthy Homes standards.

The commission advised the government to create an independent housing authority rather than leave it up to for-profit inspection companies, which also tend to offer remediation solutions.

Van Blerk agrees with the commission that mixing inspection with remediation is “a bit like asking a mechanic to perform a Warrant of Fitness on your car.”

He supports the commission’s call for an “independent rental WOF,” but believes the task can be done better by instruments, data and software instead of leaving it in the hands of human inspectors.

“There’s a lot of tomfoolery happening in this industry since it is largely unregulated, and anyone can become a Healthy Home inspector.”

Van Blerk believes technology is the answer the commission is looking for, not a new government body.

For example, the Tether EnviroQ is a simple way to measure the thermal comfort of a home without the need to become an expert in ventilation, heating and mathematics. Technology can also be used to accurately determine a home’s health and efficiency.

“Our software and technology empower any property owner to become an inspector. With Tether’s software, even tenants can do their inspections and send the report to their landlord.”

“Compliance is normally a boring process that requires quite a bit of technical knowledge. But Tether’s tool simplifies all of that,” van Blerk said.

The Healthy Homes standards apply only to rental properties and aim to improve the poor quality of New Zealand’s housing stock. The standards set minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture, drainage and draught-stopping in rental properties.

The Healthy Home standards entered into force in July 2019 and have gone through a handful of regulatory tweaks as landlords and property managers submit feedback about the requirements.

The regulation’s latest update, released in May, improved the “heating calculator” that inspectors use to measure a home’s heating standards.

Van Blerk said that before the update, inspectors were incentivised to quote larger-than-necessary heat pumps for smaller homes in a lazy attempt to comply with the standards. This could cost landlords thousands (a 9 KW pump sells for between $3000-$4000 excluding installation) while drastically increasing the monthly electricity cost for tenants.

“We’ve heard some shocking stories from property managers about quotes from Healthy Home inspection companies. The aim of their game appears to be to inspect as many properties as possible by cutting corners and presenting quotes for heat pumps that are massively oversized for the house.

“The government’s new heating calculator hopefully fixes this problem and lowers the cost of compliance for tenants and landlords,” he said.

As the government irons out more wrinkles in its Healthy Home standards, van Blerk said there is plenty that landlords and property managers can do to improve the health of homes:

1. Ensure the property complies with standards

Many houses built after 2008 will likely be of higher quality, but every home should be checked for whether they comply with the new standards, van Blerk said.

“Whether you perform these checks with an inspector or using Tether’s software, the last thing you want is to be supplying a bad house for tenants as we move into winter. You also don’t want to be caught out by the Tenancy Tribunal for not complying with minimum standards,” he said.

2. Seek out independent inspectors

Should a landlord or property manager choose to use a Healthy Home inspector, that inspection company should be independent of firms offering remediation services, van Blerk said.

“An inspection company will always do what makes a profit. Some will charge a low cost per inspection but make their money on the remediation quote. Other companies aren’t attached to any remediation service but will also charge a higher price. So, there’s always a trade-off,” van Blerk said.

3. Thermal comfort

Van Blerk said the best place to start is to measure the “thermal comfort” of a home, which is the balance of temperature and humidity in an enclosed space.

“Getting this balance right is a key factor in limiting the amount of mould that might grow inside a poorly ventilated or damp household,” van Blerk said.

“Improving ventilation is also an important way to get rid of stale or cold air and the vapour from cleaning products that harm a person’s respiratory health – not to mention good ventilation lessens the risk of contracting viruses like Covid-19.”

For more information visit: https://www.tether.co.nz/

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