HHS compliance statement Q6 (and Q7)

This question is from Cliff on the healthy homes heating disclosure standard:

Four years ago, I installed heat pumps in all my rental properties. All of the heat pumps are 5 and 6kw. I need help filling up the HHS form in the new tenancy agreement form. In January 2022, when I filled out the tenancy agreement form for my new tenant, I didn’t come across this section: ‘Alternative pathway to compliance’ where the landlord has to provide why this regulation applies and the name and qualifications of the specialist.

I have calculated the required heating capacity using Tenancy Services’ heating assessment tool. I comply and even exceed their requirements. Do I need a specialist to assess the heat pump’s heating capacity? Do you know any independent heat pump specialist that can carry out the inspection? 

You are referring to question 6 (and, by extension, question 7) on pages 4 and 5 of Tenancy Services’ HHS compliance statement template. The short answer is that you only need to answer them if you rely on regulation 10A or 10B to meet the HHS heating standard. In most cases, landlords who use Tenancy Services’ heating assessment tool for compliance purposes (per regulation 10) can skip questions 6 and 7.

Zooming out somewhat to look at the bigger picture, from 12 May 2022, there are three pathways for a property to meet the HHS heating standard:

1. By meeting the required heating capacity as determined by Tenancy Services’ heating assessment tool (regulation 10);
   • In which case, the landlord fills in questions 2 to 5 and skips over questions 6 and 7;
   • No professional assessor is necessary.
2. By meeting the required heating capacity as determined by a suitably qualified specialist without interacting with Tenancy Services’ heating assessment tool (regulation 10A, see assessment criteria here); or
   • In which case, the landlord fills in questions 2 to 6 skipping over question 7;
   • The property must be assessed by a suitably qualified specialist and not a lay landlord. Note that the regulations have an exact definition for a “suitably qualified specialist”. In most cases, a conventional healthy homes standards assessor is not captured by that definition.
3. With geothermal heating systems that meet the criteria outlined here (regulation 10B).
   • In this case, the landlord fills in question 7, skipping over questions 2 to 6.

Having met the required heating capacity as determined by the heating assessment tool, Cliff must answer questions 2 to 5 only to meet his disclosure obligation about the property’s heating standard compliance.

Our answers to Cliff’s two questions:

1. No, in this instance, he is not required to engage a specialist to assess the heating standard of this particular property;
2. Yes, we can connect members with suitably qualified specialists who meet the requirements of regulation 10A. Email us to follow up.

See this step-by-step guide to filling out your HHS paperwork (produced in 2020) for more information. See also Rentfit’s presentation on new healthy homes standards rules (2022 regulation) explained. Feel free to email us if you have any HHS or tenancy-related questions.