Unovent is the only ventilation system supported by the New Zealand Property Investors’ Association.
What the Healthy Home Guarantees Act means for you?
In December 2017, the Government passed the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act. This Act amended the Residential Tenancies Act and enables standards to be made to make rental homes warmer and drier. The standards set minimum requirements to create warmer, drier rental homes (the healthy homes standards).**
The changes will require landlords to guarantee any new tenancy must be either properly insulated or contain a heating source able to make the home warm and dry.
Houses must include good ventilation
The proposed standard also requires all bathrooms and kitchens to have mechanical extract ventilation, in addition to opening windows in habitable rooms (living room, dining room, kitchen and bedrooms).* Mechanical ventilation, such as extractor fans or rangehoods, is easy to use and noticeably improves the ventilation in a home, reducing the incidence of mould forming.
The issue with the heating component is that heating a home won’t make it dry. Without properly- designed and installed whole home ventilation, dampness and mould can continue to grow in a home, despite a landlord’s best efforts in heating and insulating the property.
There are 625,900 Kiwis living in rental properties in NZ – and many of them are struggling through winter. NZ’s housing stock is poor, often riddled with mould and mildew which severely affects our health, especially if we have respiratory illnesses. Some tenants are saying they can’t afford the heating systems their landlords are installing for them as well – a factor that could be reversed if the house was properly ventilated and insulated – as drier homes are easier to heat (read more here).
Take the onus away from your tenants – it’s an investment.
If you’re a landlord, especially in lower socio-economic areas, do the right thing by addressing the three key factors needed to create a healthy home; insulation, heating and whole home ventilation – we call it the ‘healthy home triangle’. This will help bring electricity costs down so tenants will use their heating, while also keeping your investment free from damage caused by excess moisture, dampness and mould. And, most importantly, it will help keep your tenants healthy through winter.
Tenants are also likely to stay longer in a rental property that’s warm and doesn’t compromise their health, reducing the costs of high tenant turnover – not to mention the fact they’ll respect the home more.Those in a damp/cold home are more likely to suffer avoidable illness, often resulting in unplanned medical bills and time off work. Unexpected financial burdens like this increase the risk of missed rent payments.
Our certified Installers can ensure you comply.
Our team of Nationwide Certified Installation Consultants can provide extract ventilation systems for bathrooms and laundries that exceed NZ Building Standards - plus a choice of rangehoods for kitchens. We also supply and install a positive Pressure ventilation (PPV) system called Xgen by Unovent. Xgen is a game changer in home air ventilation. Designed in New Zealand for New Zealand conditions, it is less expensive than other ventilation systems. Plus it will cost your tenant less than $1 a month to run a 4 unit system - so they won't turn it off.
Our installers will be able to bring your rental properties up to standard quickly and efficiently with little or no fuss to your tenants. Plus if you are a current NZPIF Member, please ask us about your special Unovent discount.