What does the Health and Safety Act mean for you?
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (the Act) came into effect on Monday 4th April 2016. While the intention is positive, it is a complicated piece of legislation that has to apply to many different industries throughout New Zealand.
We’ve reviewed the Act from a Landlords perspective and combined with information from WorkSafe, hope that the following information acts to clarify how you will be affected.
The legislation has changed because annually workplace accidents cost New Zealand $3.5billion per year. In addition, one in ten people are harmed at work. Last year, 35 people died at work, and 3,385 suffered serious injuries. The aim of updating this legislation is to cut those numbers by at least 25 per cent by 2020. Prosecutions are in place for serious breaches or repeat offenders.
As a residential landlord you have a business of operating a rental property. An important part of the new Act is that the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) will have the primary health and safety duty. As the owner of the rental property, you are the PCBU and have a primary duty of care. Further to this, as the PCBU, you have a duty to ensure health and safety ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ and it is your responsibility to do what the PCBU can reasonably do to manage any risks.
To help understand the new Act, we've provided some answers to common questions from a landlord’s perspective:
As a PCBU am I responsible for everything that happens at my property?
No. As a PCBU you are only responsible for the elements of health and safety that you have, or should have, control or influence over. This responsibility includes yourself, your tenant, anyone you engage to work on the rental or any member of the public that enters the property. Rest assured, this doesn’t mean that you carry the responsibility for everything that happens to tenants while they occupy your rental property. In fact, what they do on a daily basis in the home they rent remains their business. Your responsibility as a property owner only covers the things you have influence and control over as the landlord/ property owner. This involves engaging things like repairs or maintenance work on the property.
What responsibility do my Tenants carry?
It is important to understand that tenants are exempt from the Act as an occupier of the property. What this means under the new Act is that if a tenant decides to carry out repairs on your property and an incident occurs, you will not be liable.
What do I need to know about engaging trades people?
If you are engaging a company to conduct work on your property, the company carrying out the trade work is also a PCBU. As a PCBU they share the primary duty for health and safety with you as property owner.
As the property owner, you just need to focus on the things you have influence and control over as the landlord/ property owner. The contractor you engage will have specialist skills and expertise right for the job at hand, and they may also be employed by another PCBU that has duties towards them as well. You are not expected to become an expert in all trades or manage everything for that worker on your property. However when identifying or managing risks, you might need to inform the tradesperson that there is a dog on the premises and arrange to keep it contained while work is carried out. This is to protect the tradesperson’s safety and is your responsibility.
Because you are the PCBU of the rental property, you have a responsibility to ensure that the people you employ are competent and qualified to undertake the work you have employed them to do. The Act states that reasonable steps must be taken by you in this regard, so if you choose a tradesperson who is a member of a trade organisation or you have used them many times before, then it is reasonable to expect that they are competent and qualified. You do not need to have them sign an agreement to confirm this in writing.
What I need to know if I conduct work on my own rental property.
While you can still carry out work on your own properties, you need to take the new Act into consideration by thinking about the health and safety risks involved and taking action to manage these as appropriate. Some minor or routine jobs (such as minor painting) will still be able to be carried out by taking basic precautions, but other tasks will still clearly need to be left for specialists. We do not advise trying and carry out all work thinking that the Act can be avoided.
What are the requirements for screening for Meth or P in between tenancies?
Meth or P detection screening between tenancies is not required unless you believe that the property has been contaminated. If you think it has been contaminated, you have an obligation to investigate and react accordingly, also advising anyone who enters the property.
Finally
We hope that this has assisted in clarifying your role as a landlord and property owner in relation to the new Act. While there are some significant changes to be aware of, it is important to consider and react accordingly to the aspects of health and safety that fall under your control in relation to your rental property.
What peace of mind can Oxygen provide?
At Oxygen, we take health and safety seriously and we are committing to the following:
- To only engage with contractors accredited to Oxygen
- Our health and safety policies are led by management and understood by all staff and reviewed regularly
- We will undertake reasonably practicable steps to reduce harm
- Our directors and officers are committed to act on behalf of our landlords and bodies corporate as a PCBU when engaging contractors on their behalf
- We will carry out frequent health and safety audits on accredited contractors
- To identify health and safety hazards and risks
- To ensure workers are engaged in health and safety matters that affect them
- To support all officers get up to date with health and safety issues and key risk factors
- To regularly review any incidents reported.
As an Oxygen landlord, you should be assured knowing that we have proactively worked with our contractors and staff to comply with the new legislation. By updating our procedures and introducing an accreditation process for our contractors, we are protecting our landlords, tenants and staff.
