January 14, 2019
As the New year has started and people are steadily returning back to work from their vacation, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) is cautioning landlords that they need to insulate their rental property till 1st July 2019 or else the can face a fine of up to $4000 from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
Chief Executive at REINZ, Bindi Norwell stated, “from 1st July 2019 ceiling and under floor insulation will be compulsory in all rental homes across New Zealand. That deadline is now less than six months away, and MBIE has warned that it will be aggressively checking up on landlords to ensure their rental properties meet the requirements under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) by the deadline.
Strict actions will be taken against those landlords who fail to comply with the rule, according to MBIE.
“Landlords need to assess their current insulation, check whether insulation can be installed and top up their insulation as per the requirement,” continues Norwell.
“The insulation requirements were announced under changes made to the RTA back in 2016, and last year MBIE was already warning landlords that it would be increasing its enforcement capabilities and that it ‘made no apologies for their approach’ so landlords need to act now if they want to avoid a fine of up to $4,000,” warned Norwell.
“One of the major issues is that there are still a significant number of rental properties around the nation that requires insulation and the Insulation Association of New Zealand has already stated that it is gravely concerned about the number of rental properties still to be insulated,” points out Norwell.
“One other point that many landlords haven’t picked up on is that they then must ensure that all new tenancy agreements must include a separately signed insulation statement covering what insulation the home has, where it is, and what type,” she explained.
“With home ownership at its lowest level in 60 years, more and more Kiwis are renting, so it’s essential we protect the health of those renting to ensure we prevent respiratory and skin infections that can be avoided by adequate housing,” concludes Norwell.
We at Metro NZ Property Management welcome the insulation requirements as this will help to improve New Zealand’s housing stock and also improve the health and wellbeing of our rental population.
If you want any expert advice on your rental property or you are looking for property manager for your investment property?
Please do contact us now on 09 985 5706 or office@metronz.co.nz
Information Retrieved from www.interest.co.nz
