Does your rental meet the Healthy Homes Standards?

The Team from Citizens Advice Christchurch Area

Since 1 July 2025 every property with a Rental Agreement needs to comply. The rules set basic standards for heating, insulation and ventilation.

- Landlords need to provide one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat a home's main living room. These need to meet the minimum heating capacity.
- Properties need to be insulated in the ceiling and under the floor. Be aware that the design of the home sometimes means this is not possible, so exemptions may apply.
- Every liveable area needs a window or door that opens to the outdoors and can be fixed open.
- Kitchens and bathrooms need extractor fans.
- All rental properties also need efficient drainage, guttering and downpipes and any gaps or holes need to be blocked.

If you don’t think your rental meets these standards these are your next steps.
1. Talk to your landlord or property manager and check for a healthy homes compliance statement in your tenancy agreements.
2. You can give landlords a 14-day notice to resolve, requiring action on specific things. See link below for a template form.
3. If you have no luck with these steps, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for help. A link to their website, which has lots of useful information, is below.

You can call Tenancy Services on 0800 836 262 (0800 TENANCY) if you need advice.

If you are in a flatting situation, check out the link to HousingAdvice to see if these rules apply.