Matt Mason: Betta Group CEO discusses Healthy Homes deadline

The deadline for rental properties to meet the Healthy Homes deadline is less than 24 hours away, and some properties are still not up to scratch.

Betta Group CEO Matt Mason told Mike Hosking that although many proactive landlords have made the required changes, some have left it to the last minute.

He says audits will be carried out and fines will be issued in the coming months to help enforce these regulation changes.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But now tomorrow, well one tomorrow, it's the start of July,
if you can believe that, it's also d day for
rental properties to make these healthy home standards. Now, these
are the rules the previous government introduced back in twenty nineteen, heating, insulation,
moisted drainage, ventilation, that sort of thing. So we've got
five hundred and sixty thousand ish rental homes in this country.
How many have made it better? Group does inspections of

(00:20):
rental properties than the CEO is Matt Mason, who was
with us. Matt, very good morning to you, Good morning match.
So it's not like we haven't had time. Do you
think most people have pulled their finger out and got
it done?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah? Look, I do do think that a lot of landlords,
productive landlords obviously have had a long time to undertake
these properties and get them up to stand it. And
I do think those being proactive have Obviously there has
been a large amount of landlords that have left it
till the last minute and are scrambling now to get

(00:54):
them done.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
What is the I mean, who's following up and what
are the penalties? Is there going to be a sort
of a raising of clamped down or no.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Look, we haven't directly been involved in any any audits,
but we do understand that MBR are undertaking a number
of audits and you know, we'll be issuing fines for
non compliance.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Are you under some sort of instruction if you go
into a home and it's not compliant, do you have
to tell someone?

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Look, obviously we're working for the client that engaged us,
and so there's no register or anything like that that
we're obligated to supply that data to other than the
client that's engaged us.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
In general, has it been arduous or did it very
widely depending on what the home was.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Look, and obviously there's a range of quality of rental properties.
Those that have been managed by property managers have typically
been a little bit higher quality and been well managed,
and so that's affected things. But look, largely, you know,
it's been the property that the type of property and

(02:04):
the quality of property out there hasn't been too bad,
and the regulations and pretty simple. It's not hugely.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
I just know no exactly, and I would imagine that
the change in the rental market in the last couple
of years has encouraged it, given that you know, you've
got to work pretty hard as a landlord these days
to get people into the house, so you'd want to
make it spick and span.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, definitely. I think that's definitely helped. Obviously, poor landlords
have had a bit of a tough time with interest
rates and things like that financially and which hasn't helped.
But yeah, I think the genuine intent out there from
you know, landlords is to get a better quality, get
a better property for their tenants.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Exactly, all right, Matt appreciated very much. Matt Mason, who's
with Better Group. For more from the Mike Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news talks they'd be from six am weekdays,
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