Real Estate Institute welcomes Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill moving to next stage
The Real Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) welcomes the announcement that the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No. 2) has
passed its second reading last night, as the organisation continues to push for legislation that will improve the
quality of New Zealand’s housing stock.
While landlords already have obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act, there is no guidance about the specific
standards they must meet to ensure warm and dry accommodation. The new standards outlined in the Bill seek to describe
what constitutes adequate:
Methods of heating and insulation
Indoor temperature
Ventilation, draught stopping, and
Drainage.
Bindi Norwell, CEO at REINZ, says: “There are significant pockets of New Zealand’s housing stock that is below par by
world standards, and any improvement will be of benefit to the health and wellbeing of Kiwis – particularly in relation
to respiratory illnesses caused by cold and damp housing e.g. asthma and rheumatic fever which can have significant
impacts for children and elderly people.”
“The World Health Organisation recommends an indoor temperature of 18°C, or 21°C for young, elderly or disabled people
and the Healthy Homes Guarantee will outline standards to help ensure optimal temperatures can be achieved,” continues
Norwell.
REINZ regularly issues educational material to its property managers to ensure they understand their requirements under
the current legislation and provides best practice guides and seminars on critical property related issues e.g.
insulation and methamphetamine impacted properties.
“Our advice to landlords is not to leave it to the last minute when it comes to installing insulation which is required
by mid 2019, as they may struggle to meet the requirements in time – especially if they are looking to use a specialist
provider for installation,” points out Norwell.
ENDS