- Property management firms are set to fire landlords not meeting Healthy Homes standards by July 1.
- Landlords have been warned for years, with some agencies already parting ways with non-compliant clients.
- Non-compliance may lead to breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and financial penalties.
Property management firms are gearing up to fire landlords who fail to upgrade their properties to Healthy Homes standards before the July 1 deadline.
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They say some landlords are dragging their feet over making improvements they have known about for years.
Harcourts Hamilton Rentals managing director Melanie Rouse told OneRoof that her company had already parted ways with clients over the issue. “All of our [landlords] are now on notice. You have to because it’s too much of a risk.”
Rouse estimated the agency might lose four or five clients, but she hoped other landlords with non-compliant properties would take action in the next six weeks. “They’ve been hearing it for years, but we’ve been putting more pressure on them now,” she said.
Healthy Homes Standards requires specific and minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties to ensure they are warm and dry. For many, the solution is simply adding a heat pump or underfloor insulation.
The new law was first announced in 2019, and landlords were given between July 1, 2021 and July 1 this year to ensure their properties were up to scratch.
Ray White property management boss Zac Snelling: "If these compliance costs are too much for you, then you probably shouldn’t be a landlord.” Photo / Supplied
Property Brokers has also put pressure on landlords who are dragging their heels - some 10% of their client base. “We’ve written to landlords who are non-compliant and said we need to put your account on hold and get the work done, otherwise we can’t manage your house,” said David Faulkner, who heads up the agency’s property management.
Faulkner worried that some landlords would flout the rules. “I suspect they will continue to rent out their homes because I don’t believe the Government has the resources to target the non-compliant properties.”
Ray White property management boss Zac Snelling believes most rental businesses will meet the deadline. “The key thing for all landlords who aren’t there yet is hurry up - you don’t have long.”
However, he believes some landlords have left it too late and will have to pay a premium to get the work done.
“We don’t want to kind of want to give notice and end the relationship with these landlords and leave tenants on their own without any Healthy Homes complaint properties. But there will be a point where we have to make a call, and I know our businesses don’t want to be responsible for non-compliant homes and non-compliant landlords,” he said.
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“Our general stance is if these compliance costs are too much for you, then you probably shouldn’t be a landlord.”
Brett Wilson, who is national manager for the Government's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team, said any landlord who did not meet their obligations would be in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 – and may face consequences like financial penalties.
Wilson said his team would continue to monitor and enforce the rules, which included sending investigators to inspect individual rental properties or reviewing paperwork to determine compliance.
A government spokesperson said there could be both general and specific exemptions for landlords who had not complied by the deadline. For example, general exemptions can include cases where the landlord intends to demolish or substantially rebuild the rental property and has applied for, or received, the relevant resource or building consent before the start date of the tenancy.
This exemption would last for up to 12 months from the start date of the tenancy. Any landlords relying on an exemption would need to state it in the healthy homes compliance statement they provide to new tenants.
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