Andrew Eagles: NZ Green Building Council CEO on the Healthy Homes requirements kicking in tomorrow

There's concerns not all landlords will comply with the Healthy Homes standards set to kick in tomorrow.

New rental compliance standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, and moisture in rental properties will come into effect from July 1.

NZ Green Building Council CEO Andrew Eagles says it's likely a significant percentage of homes won't meet the standard by the deadline.

"There's been an awful lot of assessments and work and I know that many are pushing to get it done in the final month, which is a real shame, because lots of people are booked up."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now tomorrow, you're a landline? Got this one in your diary?
Haven't you a landlord? Rather? Landlord? Tomorrow's the deadline to
have your rental up to healthy home standards. Landlords have
had six years to comply, yet figures from Better Group
show only twenty three percent past every regulation. Now Andrew
Eagles is the CEO of the New Zealand Green Building Council,
is with us. Now, Hey, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Tuo, great to speak, good to talk to you.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Do you believe those numbers?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well? I think, I mean, there are people that are
failing as standards. Different groups have different numbers, but I
think it's right to say that not every home is past.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
What do you reckon? What is the number of homes
across the country that would fail?

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Oh, that's really tough questions. Look, I would say I
would say I'd like to think it's less than thirty percent.
To be honest, there's been six years with the awful
lot of assessments and work, and I know that many
are pushing to get it done in the final months,

(01:23):
which is a real shame because lots of people are
booked up, right, you know, you call an assessor with
someone to make the improvements, that's even harder thing. And
I've speaken to an insulation provider and he said, well,
he's been booked up for three months. So they're just
they can't get that done. They should have been thinking
of this two three years ago.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Hey, but even at thirty percent, that's one in three
houses that would fail, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
That's right, yep. And some will be more significant than others.
So that's a real That means a family that's got drafts,
or isn't it healthier or warm as there could be,
And that's real shame for that family.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Have you heard that there are landlords who are flat
out telling property management companies that they are not going
to comply, they're refusing.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
I haven't heard that. I mean, there may be some
who are like that, but I think, look, there's lots
of great landlords out there who want healthy tenants because
they're going to be more likely to pay and more
likely to stay. But I can't imagine there's some bad
apples who just can't. I think there's some who never

(02:27):
got round to it a little bit of laziness or
lack of planning, and then I can see that some
might might be quite denigrating of their actual duties. You know,
I could see that might happen.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Have you seen the punishment? I was reading the Herald
Set and there was an article suggesting that the punishment
that would like the worst case for a landlord who
didn't actually manage to get around to doing all of this,
would be about seven two hundred dollars. And that would
be if there are recidivus. The first punishment is more
likely to be twenty four hundred.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
You aware of that, Yes, yeah, I'm aware of that.
That's the standard fines, I mean pretty well, yeah, that's right.
I mean there have been fines of significantly more than
that for really bad incidences where the place is in
a really bad state. Yeah, I think that the money
going to those tenants is good. You know, that's the person.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
But the point I'm trying to get to, Andrew is,
if you are a landlord and you need to insulate
top and bottom, you need to draft stop, you need
to put a heat pumpin, you need to put a
fan in both bathrooms, you need to put a fan
in the kitchen. Like your costs are adding upright, we
are now in the tens of that, like significantly tens

(03:42):
of thousands of dollars. Would you not be rational to
just take your chances and pay a two thousand dollars? Fine?

Speaker 3 (03:50):
But most most aren't doing that. I can see the
logic of where you're going. I think for many there
will be a couple of items where they're failing at
and in that instance it's better to get the work done,
have a happier tenant. He's more likely to pay.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
But be way poorer. The point I'm trying to do
to the point I'm.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
Trying to do to is you'll we find again here
the right.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, oh yeah, and then over time it'll become seven
thousand or five hundred the yeah. But you could also,
given the sheer numbers, you could also just take it,
take a chance getting lost in the numbers, right, because
there's no way there's enough compliance officers to deal with
all of this. So tomorrow, when we get there, is
there not a chance that the story tomorrow, which is
like let's say your numbers, thirty percent of houses aren't complying,

(04:35):
is actually the same story in about five or ten years.
Thirty percent of houses aren't complying because a lot of
them just simply won't.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
I do think we need more compliance, We need more
compliance managers, and we need more headlined stories of people
being fined. I have seen fines up to over twenty
thousand dollars for really bad states. I think, look, it
would and we need respect finding right if you get fined,
I mean my suggestion would be you checked again. Within
three to six months, you're going to find again. You've

(05:05):
got time to get that right. Look, it's better for
your tenants. They're more likely to pay rent and they're
in a healthier, warm place. They're more likely to stay
yea healthy what's your biggest cost, it's not having a
tenant for three to six months. You don't want to
lack that rental income. If there's a lot that's seventy
percent of homes out there do have the standard. People

(05:27):
are getting more and more savvy about what they need
to do to go to tenancy tribunal. There's more cases
at the Tennessee tribunal. So your choice is do I
put a fan in like book? As an electrician, pay
a few hundred dollars get the fan in or do
I face discreetly tribunal and then not have a tenant
for three or four months and have another check come
and check up on me in three months. I know

(05:48):
which I do.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
Andrew, thanks very much, appreciate your time as Andrew Eagle,
CEO of New Zealand Green Building Council.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
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