Things you need to know about Fines after 1st July 2021

Fines for Compliance Statements and Failing to Comply

If a landlord does not include a current Healthy Homes Statement of Compliance in a new or renewed tenancy agreement, they can then face a fine or infringement fee. We would like to share with you some points to be aware of, regarding reasons for fees and possibly how to avoid them and/or a tenancy tribunal. 

There is a fine of $7200 if a landlord fails to comply with any of the Healthy Homes Standards, whether the property is non-compliant on one or all of the standards. As of 1st July 2021 if a new tenancy has started and there is work needing to be done on the property to comply with the standards, this needs to be completed within 90 days of that tenancy starting. 

Tenants are entitled to request any information regarding the Healthy Homes Standards as these relate to the property they are living in. If the property manager/ landlord does not supply the information within 21 days of receiving the request, there is a fine of $750. Once again, the property manager/ landlord must fill out and attach a Statement of Compliance to any new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement.

We can help provide a Statement of Compliance through our Healthy Homes Assessments, and we issue a compliance certificate once all the remedial work has been completed sufficiently. We can help make a property compliant through providing estimates for maintenance work required, such as draught stopping.

There is also a fine for landlords providing a false or misleading statement or information. This has gone up from $500 to $900. This ensures that all information in the statement needs to be correct when that tenancy agreement is signed. 

The person who is liable for this fine is whoever is named on the tenancy agreement as being the person letting the property out, so it could be the landlord’s name or the property management company; something to be mindful of.

More information around this can be found at: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/DLM95099.html

For further questions or more info, please contact our team on 0800 34 34 33