The healthy homes standards set minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping in residential rental properties. The staged implementation is over.
The deadline has passed
Since 1 July 2025, all private rentals must comply with all five standards. The earlier framework, which gave landlords 90 or 120 days from the start of a new or renewed tenancy to become compliant, has been fully superseded.
That change matters more than it sounds. Compliance is now required at all times, not only when a tenancy begins or is renewed. A property that was compliant at the start of a tenancy and has since drifted — a failed heat pump, blocked ventilation, a new draught — is non-compliant now.
Failure to meet the standards is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, with financial penalties of up to $7,200.
The five standards
Heating. The main living room must have a fixed heater capable of reaching and maintaining 18°C. The required capacity is calculated for the specific room using the official heating assessment tool, taking account of size, glazing, insulation and orientation. Not all heater types qualify — open fires, unflued gas heaters and some portable devices do not count, and a heater below the calculated capacity does not comply even if it is fixed and functional.
Insulation. Ceiling and underfloor insulation must meet the required R-values, or meet the earlier standard if installed before a specified date and in reasonable condition. Ceiling insulation must be a minimum of R2.9 or R3.3 depending on climate zone, with underfloor insulation to the specified standard. Exemptions exist where installation is physically impracticable, and they need to be documented rather than assumed.
Ventilation. Every habitable room needs openable windows or doors amounting to at least 5 percent of the floor area. Kitchens and bathrooms require extractor fans venting to the outdoors, meeting minimum duct diameter or extraction rate requirements.
Moisture ingress and drainage. Efficient drainage for surface and storm water, and where there is an enclosed subfloor, a ground moisture barrier.
Draught stopping. Unreasonable gaps and holes in walls, ceilings, windows, floors and doors must be blocked, and unused open fireplaces must be closed off or their chimneys blocked.
The compliance statement
Landlords must include a healthy homes compliance statement in new or renewed tenancy agreements, setting out the current level of compliance with each standard.
The statement must be specific, not a general assertion. Vague or inaccurate statements are themselves a breach, and they are the easiest thing for a tenant or the regulator to check.
Records are the practical protection
Compliance is demonstrated by evidence, and a landlord who has done the work but kept no records is in a weak position at a Tenancy Tribunal hearing.
Worth holding:
- The heating assessment calculation for the main living room, showing the required capacity and the heater installed.
- Insulation installation records, including R-values, installer details and dates, plus photographs.
- Specifications for extractor fans showing duct diameter or extraction rate.
- Photographs of the ground moisture barrier and drainage works.
- Records of any exemption relied on, with the reason.
- Inspection records showing periodic checks that the property remains compliant.
Where landlords get caught
- Assuming an existing heat pump complies. Capacity is calculated for the room; many existing units are undersized for the requirement.
- Insulation installed years ago that has settled, been disturbed by tradespeople or no longer meets condition requirements.
- Extractor fans venting into the roof space rather than outdoors, which is both non-compliant and a moisture problem.
- Treating compliance as a one-off. Equipment fails, and the obligation is continuous.
- Relying on a builder’s word without documentation.
Interaction with other obligations
Healthy homes sits alongside the general obligation to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair, and alongside building code requirements for any work done. Meeting healthy homes does not discharge the wider maintenance duty.
For rentals in buildings with body corporates, some work may require body corporate consent where it affects common property.
Where to check
Tenancy Services publishes the standards in detail, the heating assessment tool, compliance statement templates and guidance on exemptions, free at tenancy.govt.nz. The heating tool in particular should be used rather than estimated — it produces the number that determines compliance.
General information only, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with Tenancy Services.
