What are the landlord obligations under the RTA Amendment Bill?
Smoke Alarms
The regulations make landlords responsible for installing operational smoke alarms, with tenants responsible for replacing batteries and notifying landlords when there is a defect. This came into effect on 1 July 2016.
What are the new smoke alarm standards?
The new smoke alarm standards will require a minimum of one working smoke alarm in the hall or similar, within three meters of each bedroom door. In a self-contained sleep-out, caravan or similar, a minimum of one working smoke alarm will be required, as per Fire Service recommendations. The landlord must ensure the alarm is operational at the beginning of a tenancy and the tenant will be responsible for replacing batteries during the tenancy. Where there are currently no smoke alarms, the new standard will require long-life photoelectric alarms. Long-life alarms cannot easily have the batteries removed, and are more cost-effective over time because batteries do not need to be replaced every six to 12 months.
Where there are existing smoke alarms, that are not long-life photoelectric, these do not need to be replaced immediately, but when they do need replacing, they should be replaced with long-life photoelectric alarms.
What about boarding houses and caravans?
The new standards will apply to all tenancies under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, so this includes boarding house tenancies, and caravans or cabins that are tenanted for longer than 28 days. Caravans will be exempt from insulation requirements and cabins may be exempt, depending on the design. Smoke alarm requirements will apply to both caravans and cabins.
Insulation
The new insulation standards will require ceiling insulation with a minimum thickness of 70mm, covering all accessible areas above habitable spaces – except where clearances are required around downlights or flues. It will also require suspended timber subfloors to have underfloor insulation in reasonable condition, covering all the accessible subfloor area beneath habitable spaces. Concrete slabs count as underfloor insulation, as does another habitable space immediately below. (A habitable space includes bedrooms, kitchens, living space, bathrooms, toilet, and laundry, but excludes garages and storage space (except where garages are used as living or sleeping areas.)
When will insulation standards be put in place?
There will be a two-stage approach to implementing the insulation standards:
- Social housing (housing where tenants pay an income-related rent for a Housing
New Zealand (HNZ) or community housing provider home): by 1 July 2016; and
- Remainder of the residential rental market (including boarding houses): 1 July 2019. Local authority housing and housing owned by Government other than HNZ (for example, properties owned by school Boards of Trustees) will be required to comply with insulation standards from 1 July 2019.
Are there any exemptions proposed to the insulation requirements?
Yes, there will be three exemptions:
-
Properties where it’s impractical to retrofit due to limitations in the property’s physical design – for example, because of limited under-floor space. (In these cases, retrofitting of insulation may be technically possible, but would involve unreasonable measures such as installing a false ceiling or taking up the floor.) It is estimated that approximately 100,000 properties will not be able to be cost-effectively insulated.
-
Properties which are sold and immediately rented back to the former owner-occupier for a period of up to 12 months. This includes properties acquired by the NZ Transport Agency for roading projects, or by private developers.
-
Properties where, within 12 months from the start of a tenancy, the landlord intends to demolish the property or substantially rebuild parts of the property. The landlord will need to provide evidence that they applied for the relevant resource consent and/or building consent for redevelopment work.
