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 (00:00):
Now tomorrow you're a landline. Got this one in your
diary having 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 groups
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 2 (00:21):
Cure, great to speak, good to talk to you.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Do you believe those numbers?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well? I think, I mean there are people that are
failing those standards. Different groups have different numbers, but I
think it's right to say that not every home is
part of.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
What do you reckon? What is the number of homes
across the country that would fail?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Oh, that's really tough questions. Look, I would say I
would say I would like to think it's less than
thirty percent. To be honest, there's been six years, been
awful lot of assessments and work, and I know that
many are pushing to get it done in the final months,

(01:06):
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 speaking 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 three years ago.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Hey, but even at thirty percent, that's one in three
houses that would fail, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
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 as healthier warm as there could be,
And that's real shame for that family.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
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 2 (01:50):
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 that some bad
apples who just can't. I think there's some who never

(02:11):
got round to it, a little bit of laziness or
lack of planning, and then I can see that some
might might be quite like denigrating of their actual duties
that I could see that might happen.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
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 2 (02:43):
You aware of that, Yes, yeah, I'm aware of that.
That's the standard finds. 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. I think that the money going
to those tenants is good. You know, that's the person.

(03:04):
But the point I'm.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
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 of thousands of dollars. Would

(03:27):
you not be rational to just take your chances and
pay a two thousand dollars fine.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
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, but.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Be way poorer.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Way.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
The point I'm trying to do, to the point I'm
trying to get to Andrew.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Is you'll be find again here the right ye.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, oh yeah, and then over time it'll become seven
thousand four the yeah. But you could also, given the
sheer numbers, you could also just 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, is actually the same

(04:19):
story in about five or ten years, thirty percent of
houses aren't complying because a lot of them just simply won't.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
I do think we need more compliance. We need more
compliance managers, and we need more headline 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 reskpe 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

(04:48):
got time to get that right. Look, it's better for
your tenants. The more likely to pay rent and they're
in a healthier, warm place, they're more likely to stay. Yeah. Health,
what's your bigger 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 are getting

(05:11):
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
this freely 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. Don't I know

(05:31):
which I do?

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Andrew, thanks very much, appreciate your time as Andrew Eagle,
CEO of New Zealand Green Building Council.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
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