Healthy Homes Guarantee Act standards announced

[sidinz]

There was a speaker at the RPIA meeting and I asked about the 18deg rule in living areas, and whether that meant that in large, open plan spaces, the far corner of the kitchen needed to get up to those temps and the answer was 'yes'.
This leads to the situation where the burden on LLs owning this kind of property is higher than that of LL with separate kitchen/dining/lounges.

[Perry]

This leads to the situation where the burden on LLs owning this kind of property is higher than that of LL with separate kitchen/dining/lounges.

Providing the appliance - yes. But paying for the energy required is the tenant's responsibility, is it not?

[Spoook]

Getting the right heater that will do the job falls on the landlord. Having it on long enough to heat the area, in my case open plan with a staircase to the upper level, is the tenants. Oh well, there needs the installation of a heavy curtain to stop the heat rising to the bedrooms. The heating of that area is not yet regulated, not my problem. Thank goodness it is all double glazed and get the sun all day.

[artemis]

There was a speaker at the RPIA meeting and I asked about the 18deg rule in living areas, and whether that meant that in large, open plan spaces, the far corner of the kitchen needed to get up to those temps and the answer was 'yes'.
This leads to the situation where the burden on LLs owning this kind of property is higher than that of LL with separate kitchen/dining/lounges.

This leads to the situation where even more landlords decide the game is not worth the candle.

[richard56]

Getting the right heater that will do the job falls on the landlord. Having it on long enough to heat the area, in my case open plan with a staircase to the upper level, is the tenants. Oh well, there needs the installation of a heavy curtain to stop the heat rising to the bedrooms. The heating of that area is not yet regulated, not my problem. Thank goodness it is all double glazed and get the sun all day.

Hi
The way I understand it the fact that your house is already warm due to all alll sun and double glazing will not be taken into account.

They talked about an "app" that just takes the room volume and calculates what size heater will be needed.

Does the "app" have a starting temperature that you can fill in...who knows...time will tell.

When I asked my tenants if they wanted a heatpump they said no and if I put one in they would never use it.

If I end up putting one in I will just tell them to write to their Labour MP and tell him.

Thanks
Richard

[Spoook]

Hi
The way I understand it the fact that your house is already warm due to all alll sun and double glazing will not be taken into account.

They talked about an "app" that just takes the room volume and calculates what size heater will be needed.

Does the "app" have a starting temperature that you can fill in...who knows...time will tell.

When I asked my tenants if they wanted a heatpump they said no and if I put one in they would never use it.

If I end up putting one in I will just tell them to write to their Labour MP and tell him.

Thanks
Richard

At least the "app" will be the cost of the tenant. We can't be "billed" for that.
I know it sounds complacent, but I know my house is dry and warm, I know I, currently, have a good tenant that will air the house and warm it as needed. Crazy that I need a law to enforce me to spend more money on an already existing "healthy home".
If mine were a two storey, probably no major. Three storey, newly re-clad, will difficult access, the price goes crazy. :-(

[artemis]

At least the "app" will be the cost of the tenant. We can't be "billed" for that.
I know it sounds complacent, but I know my house is dry and warm, I know I, currently, have a good tenant that will air the house and warm it as needed. Crazy that I need a law to enforce me to spend more money on an already existing "healthy home".
If mine were a two storey, probably no major. Three storey, newly re-clad, will difficult access, the price goes crazy. :-(

The app will be a cost to the taxpayer.

[Spoook]

So, we do have to pay.

[Perry]

Is it just me or does this fellow look a lot like Dhil Twitford?


Seems like believing he could conjure up 10,000 new houses a year would be on a par with believing that the earth was flat.

[deechnz]

All rental homes will be required to:

Have a heater that can heat the main living area to 18 degrees Celsius.
Have ceiling and underfloor insulation that either meets the 2008 Building Code insulation standard, or (for existing ceiling insulation) has a minimum thickness of 120 millimetres.
Kitchens and bathrooms will be required to have extraction fans or rangehoods.
Install a ground moisture barrier to stop moisture rising into the home where there is an enclosed subfloor space.
Have adequate drainage and guttering to prevent water entering the home.
Block draughts that make a home harder to heat.
Compliance timeline:

July 1, 2021 – Private landlords must ensure rental properties comply with the healthy home standards within 90 days of any new tenancy, and all boarding houses must comply with the healthy home standards.

July 1, 2023 – All Housing New Zealand houses and registered Community Housing Providers houses must comply with the healthy home standards.

July 1, 2024 – All rental homes must comply with the healthy home standards.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/110...ment-announces

A quickie- are these requirements guaranteed to be needed by landlords if Labour gets in at the next election (is it their stated policy), or is it one of those "recommendation" reports with Labour still viewing it before deciding which bits of it to adopt or dismiss?

[Learning]

are these requirements guaranteed to be needed by landlords if Labour gets in at the next election (is it their stated policy), or is it one of those "recommendation" reports with Labour still viewing it before deciding which bits of it to adopt or dismiss?

It's already been passed into law. So unless a government changes this law (IMHO highly unlikely) the clock is ticking.

[north shore]

according to stuff, it passed into law today

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/112677868/healthy-homes-standards-legislation-signed-off-into-law

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced the exact standards had now been signed off.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, policy deputy chief executive, Jo Hughes said
the final healthy homes standards will be released on Thursday.

[klauster]

Has any PT forumite seen the slightest reference to tenant compliance with the standards?
(From Dhil Twitford, Taxcindarella et al?)

Perry, good point, but it’s obvious – the healthy home standards are a political stand targeting voters, otherwise you would talk about standards for all NZ homes. And if you have standards you would include rules enforceable for everyone. The polarization of LLs and tenants is dirty politics.

Now the much more practical question is how can people cope with heating all rooms etc? As you know the older kiwi bungalows have limited power points and electrical circuits with max 10A/230AC. Try to run a 2000Watt heater and washing machine/dryer, etc on the same circuit...

We have re-wired some properties, huge costs – now we label the power point circuits and blown fuses etc are tenant’s expenses.

If rentals have enough heaters to run – electrical standards might have to change as well!

[Perry]

Dhil's Dastardly Dilemma

Oh, dear! Unintended consequences?

How can that be, says Dhil, whistling wistfully and woefully?

From my "oh, s**t!" file, here's a pic of unintended consequences.



One heater too many on that extension cord.

We have re-wired some properties, huge costs – now we label the power point circuits and blown fuses etc are tenant’s expenses.

Blown fuses? What you say? Re-settable circuit breakers, surely?

[klauster]

Yep - push the red button on your "Re-settable circuit" but not disconnecting the circuit overload - well, a renter's license or a certificate of completed training for tenants might be helpful.