Making rental homes warmer and safer
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2015.07.21 13:26
Last week the Government announced we are introducing new requirements for insulation and smoke alarms in all rental homes in New Zealand.This will help to make homes warmer, drier, and safer for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and their families.
It’s estimated there are currently around 120,000 rental homes in New Zealand that don’t have any smoke alarms. We all know smoke alarms save lives so these new laws will require smoke alarms to be installed in all tenanted properties from 1 July next year.
The New Zealand Fire Service estimates about 90 per cent of house fire fatalities are in rental properties, which often do not have working smoke alarms.Landlords will be responsible for fitting a working alarm and tenants will be responsible for replacing batteries or notifying landlords of any defects.
Ceiling and underfloor insulation will also be required in social housing heavily subsidised by Government by 1 July next year. The remainder of private rental homes and boarding houses will be required to have it installed by 1 July 2019. Exemptions will be made where it is physically impractical to install insulation because it is not possible to access the roof or floor cavities.
From 1 July next year, all landlords must also state in tenancy agreements the level of insulation the property has to help keep tenants better informed. Since the National-led Government came into office, we’re worked hard to improve housing standards in New Zealand.
We’ve insulated around 300,000 old, cold, damp homes for communities most in need through our Warm Up New Zealand insulation and clean heating programme, and the insulation of Housing NZ properties.
These new changes will be supported by a $1.5 million information campaign aimed at improving compliance with existing and new tenancy law requirements, as well as providing guidance on the practical ways that homes can be made healthier.
Some of the expected health benefits from having insulation installed include reduced hospitalisations from circulatory and respiratory illnesses, reduced pharmaceutical costs, and fewer days off work and school.
These changes are balanced and practical without imposing excessive bureaucracy or cost on New Zealanders and their families who are living in rental properties.
