The Healthy Home Standards became law last year, and the first deadline is coming up on 1 July – where you must include a statement of your current level
of compliance in any new, varied or renewed tenancy agreement.
Then, by 1 July 2021, you must be compliant within 90 days for any new tenancies.
So, if you have a budget of $20k to spend on making your property a healthy home, how should you spend it?
Now is the best time to get your property up to standard because, as we saw with the insulation deadline last year, the closer you get to the deadline, the greater the demand as people rush to get compliant. This puts prices up and creates long lead times between booking the work in and getting it done.
Here is what I recommend:
- The first step is to get a Healthy Homes Assessment from a qualified and independent assessor.
This full assessment of your property will let you know which Healthy Homes Standards you already comply with and what you still need to do to be compliant.
Budget: From $250
The next step is to work your way through the five Healthy Homes Standards:
- Insulation: this may already be sorted if
you had to install new insulation to comply with last year’s insulation deadline. However, note the Healthy Homes Standard for insulation is higher
than what was required by 1 July 2019 to be compliant.
Budget: $2,000 – $3,000 (depending on the size of the house)
- Heating: a heat pump is likely your best option, and you’ll
need to make sure it can heat the main living area to 18°C.
Budget: $2,500 approximately (including installation)
- Ventilation: the bathroom and kitchen need mechanical
exterior venting.
Budget for the bathroom: $200 – $1,000 (depending on layout)
Budget for the kitchen: $200 – $2,500 (rangehood)
- Moisture ingress and drainage: in
addition to a ground moisture barrier, you may also need to upgrade your guttering and downpipes.
Budget for the ground moisture barrier: $1,500 – $2,500
Budget for the guttering and downpipes: $1,000
- Draught stopping: replace poorly fitted windows
and doors and get double-glazing where possible. Weather strips can be fitted to fill gaps and prevent draughts.
Budget for window and door replacements: $500 – $5,000
Budget for weather gaps: $10 each
- Finally, while not part of the Healthy Homes Standards, it’s worthwhile making sure your smoke alarms are up to spec and working.
Budget: $50 – $200
Once you’ve ticked all the boxes, you can sit back, relax and shout yourself a bottle of bubbles!
Don’t forget that in addition to complying with the new legislation, these improvements increase the value of your property and potential rental income.
Get your Healthy Homes Assessment done early and then plan out what you need to do to bring your property up to standard well before the deadline.
Do you have any questions about the Healthy Homes Standards or what you need to do to get compliant? The team at NZ Healthy Homes is more than happy to
help you through the process and all our assessors are certified by HomeFit. You can contact me at [email protected].
Making Houses Homes
This is a sponsored blog article by Stephen Hegh of NZ Healthy Homes. Sponsored articles are a way for APIA members to share their views and advertise their services. These articles do not necessarily reflect the views and position of the APIA.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Hegh
Steve is the director of NZ Healthy Homes as well as a long time APIA member. He holds the following qualifications/accreditations: NZQA Methamphetamine
30892,30893,30894, BOHS IP402 Asbestos Survey and HomeFit Assessor NZGBC.
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