How the Healthy Homes Standards have changed tenancy agreements

Since the Healthy Homes Standards became law on 1 July 2019, landlords are required to provide two additional statements as part of any new or renewing tenancy agreement.

The first, is a statement of insulation quality and the second, a statement of their intent to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards.

Statement of insulation quality

Under the Residential Tenancies Act, landlords must provide a statement that outlines the type, location and condition of the insulation in the walls, ceiling and underfloor of their rental properties.

If you are a private landlord managing your own properties, here’s a template you can use. If you use a Lodge property manager, they will arrange for this to be correctly prepared for you.

You may choose to use an assessment from a professional as your statement, however, this document must: 

• Cover all the required information, including where your insulation is, the type of product, it's R-value and the condition of the insulation. 
• Be signed by the landlord.

Important! A tenancy agreement is a legal document. We always recommend seeking expert advice specific to your circumstances. 

If you do not sign an insulation statement or include false or misleading information in it, you may face a financial penalty up to $500.

Statement of intent to comply

As a landlord, you must now declare that you comply or intend to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards by the required dates. Failure to make this declaration could result in a financial penalty up to $500. 

If your property is run by a Lodge Property Manager, we can help you prepare this document and ensure all the boxes are ticked. Alternatively, you can do it using the Tenancy Services’ template of the statement. 

If your home already complies with the Healthy Homes Standards, you must have the documentation to back up your claim and be able to provide these within 10 working days. This is part of the new rental property record-keeping requirements (see below) for landlords that also came into effect on 1 July 2019.

Rental property record-keeping requirements

Landlords must be able to provide evidence of their compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards. According to Tenancy Services, this can include documents such as:

• Code of compliance certificate.
• Photographic evidence of compliance.
• Calculations of a living room’s heating capacity, including a printout from the heating assessment tool.
• Receipts and invoices from builders or tradespeople.
• Receipts for any building materials and/or products.
• Work records from building practitioners or Independently Qualified Persons.
• A professional evaluation performed by a Licensed Building Practitioner, Independent Qualified Person or any other relevant professional.
• A Building Warrant of Fitness or Compliance Schedule, where the extractor fans are part of a larger ventilation system and the ventilation system is a specified system.
• Land Information Memorandum (LIM) or building information reports, or part of these reports that reasonably show compliance.
• Product manuals/schedules for devices installed to meet compliance with the standards.

Landlords must be able to supply their compliance records within 10 working days to show that their rental meets the Healthy Homes Standards. Fail to do so and you are breaking the law, which could incur penalties. 

In addition to the above, landlords must now keep accurate records about their tenancy. This includes:

• The tenancy agreement and any variations or renewals of it.
• All property inspection reports.
• Rent, receipts and records (for seven years).
• Water bills.
• Invoices or records for any work carried out at the property, (i.e. maintenance or cleaning).
• Copies of letters or emails sent to or received from the tenant(s). 

For more information on the HHS and how it may impact your rental property,  contact your Lodge Property Manager or download our free guide below!