Tenants: Make changes faster

Samantha Wildermoth reckons none of the rental homes she has ever lived in would be up to the standard required by new healthy homes rules.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced the changes in Wellington on Sunday which will require a minimum standard for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage in residential rental properties.

From July 1, 2021, private landlords will have to ensure their properties meet the standards within 90 days of any new tenancy. By 2024, all rental homes must comply.

Wildermoth now pays $515 a week for a home in Auckland for herself, her partner and two children aged under 2.

It has no heating and is draughty. While there is insulation, there are gaps between doors and windows and no ventilation in the bathroom or kitchen.

She said the changes would make a huge difference to her power bill and medical bills.

‘‘When we have to take time off work because our kids are sick, we still have to pay full price for daycare fees so we are losing money on both daycare and wages if we don’t have any sick leave … I get chest infections almost every year, and my kids always get sick with change of seasons and through winter.’’

She said her only worry was that rent prices would go up to cover the cost of the improvements.

But she said the deadline to enact the changes was not soon enough.

‘‘There are a lot of houses all throughout New Zealand that need fixing. I know for the landlords it’s going to be expensive, especially since they just did the insulation as well, but it’s needed to make sure our kids are healthy.’’

But Penny Arthur, manager of the Tenants Protection Association, said it was too ambitious to try to introduce the changes more quickly than 2021.

She said many property investors were already struggling to meet the first round of insulation standards.

Ceiling and underfloor insulation must be installed, where it is reasonably practicable, by July 1.

‘‘A lot of them aren’t going to achieve the deadline this year.’’

Some had been reluctant to start the work, she said, and now so many were in the process that it would not be physically possible to get it done in time.

Others had no intention of complying, she said. She had dealt with tenants who had been given insulation statements saying their homes were insulated, even though they clearly were not.

There was a risk that some people would get confused and think the changes replace the July 1 deadline, she said.

On the other hand, there were ‘‘great’’ landlords who already complied with the rules and would now have a new standard to comply with, with extra costs associated with that, even though what they had was already enough for the current regulations. ‘‘That adds cost which will realistically be passed on to tenants.’’

Arthur said that in some cases it would be too much work to bring a property up to standard. ‘‘But in those cases, should those properties be inhabited by anyone?

‘‘If they can’t be brought up to the standard, should they be lived in at all?’’

Another tenant, Alyssa McArley, said having a warm, dry home was a big part of her health.

She said the worst house she had lived in was two bedrooms on a concrete pad.

‘‘When it rained the bathroom filled with water and there was black mould everywhere.

‘‘The landlord didn’t give a toss. I was at the doctor’s weekly with my asthma, now we have a beautiful place; the landlord has got it up to spec insulation-wise, we’ve got heating and there is good airflow and my asthma doesn’t play up at all.’’

Robert Whitaker, of Renters United, said he expected landlords to use the standards as justification to increase rent.

‘‘The reality is that rents are constrained by the capacity of renters to pay, not by the actual cost to landlords. For example, landlords don’t charge less rent for a property owned freehold compared to one with a sizeable mortgage and here in Wellington rents are rising fast, despite low inflation and interest rates.

‘‘Our rental stock is in such a poor state of repair due to decades of deferred maintenance and upgrade as many landlords have chosen the easy road of low investment and high capital returns at the expense of the health of their tenants and the long-term quality of the house.

‘‘In our view, landlords should consider any improvements required under the new standards as a catch-up investment that will improve both the short and the long term value of their asset.’’

Whitaker said more should be done to enforce the standards.

‘‘There is a small amount of new money to boost MBIE’s compliance team, but they are rightly focused on the worst offenders which means for most renters it will be up to them to enforce the standards on behalf of the Government. If the quality of housing really is a significant public health issue, then why aren’t local authorities or government itself taking an active role in ensuring the standards are met? Why put tenants in the difficult position of having the jeopardise their relationship with their landlord – and potentially their home – if they want a warm dry and healthy home?’’

‘‘Our rental stock is in such a poor state of repair due to decades of deferred maintenance and upgrade as many landlords have chosen the easy road of low investment and high capital returns at the expense of the health of their tenants and the long-term quality of the house.’’

Robert Whitaker, of Renters United

All rental homes will be required to:

Have a heater that can heat the main living area to 18 degrees Celsius.

Have ceiling and underfloor insulation that either meets the 2008 Building Code insulation standard, or (for existing ceiling insulation) has a minimum thickness of 120 millimetres. Have extraction fans or rangehoods in kitchens and bathrooms.

Have a ground moisture barrier to stop moisture rising into the home where there is an enclosed subfloor space.

Have adequate drainage and guttering to prevent water entering the home.

Have draughts blocked that make a home harder to heat. Compliance timeline:

July 1, 2021 – Private landlords must ensure rental properties comply with the healthy home standards within 90 days of any new tenancy, and all boarding houses must comply with the healthy home standards.

July 1, 2023 – All Housing NZ houses and registered Community Housing Providers houses must comply with the healthy home standards.

July 1, 2024 – All rental homes must comply with the healthy home standards.