Healthy Homes standards: the landlord's checklist.
The Healthy Homes standards are five minimum rules every New Zealand rental must meet: heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping. Every private rental has had to comply since 1 July 2025, and every new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement needs a signed compliance statement.
Checked against Tenancy Services on 22 October 2026. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with Tenancy Services.
The five standards and the numbers that matter.
| Standard | What the home needs | The key numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Heating | One or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room | Each heater at least 1.5 kW. Enough capacity to heat the room to 18°C |
| Insulation | Ceiling and underfloor insulation in reasonable condition | Ceiling R 2.9 (zones 1 and 2) or R 3.3 (zone 3). Underfloor R 1.3. Ceiling insulation from before 1 July 2016 at least 120mm thick |
| Ventilation | Opening windows in living spaces, and extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms | Openable area at least 5% of each room's floor. Kitchen fan 150mm or 50 litres a second. Bathroom fan 120mm or 25 litres a second |
| Moisture and drainage | Efficient drainage, gutters and downpipes, and a ground moisture barrier under an enclosed subfloor | Polythene barrier laid to section 8 of NZS 4246:2016, or a professional barrier of at least 50 MNs/g |
| Draught stopping | Unreasonable gaps that cause noticeable draughts blocked | Open fireplaces closed off and the chimney blocked, unless the tenant asks in writing to use it |
Source: Tenancy Services pages for each standard, last updated 25 September 2025, read 22 October 2026.
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- The records to keep, and the penalties
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1. Heating
The main living room needs one or more fixed heaters that can heat it directly. The main living room is the largest room used for everyday living, such as the lounge, family room or dining room. Each heater must be fixed, not portable, at least 1.5 kW, and together they must meet the room's required heating capacity.
Working out the capacity. Use Tenancy Services' free Heating Assessment Tool, the formula in the regulations, or a professional assessment. Keep the result: it goes in your compliance statement.
- Counts: heat pumps, wood burners, pellet burners and flued gas heaters. Central heating counts if it delivers heat straight into the living room
- Never counts: open fires, and unflued heaters such as portable LPG bottle heaters
- Electric heaters: other than heat pumps, they do not count when the required capacity is above 2.4 kW. Heat pumps and electric heaters need a thermostat
- Older heating: heaters installed before 1 July 2019 can stay if each is above 2.4 kW, none is electric (heat pumps are fine), and together they give at least 80% of the required capacity
- Topping up: if older heating falls short, a fixed electric heater of 2.4 kW or less with a thermostat can make up the gap. Tenancy Services' example: a 3.6 kW heat pump plus a 2.4 kW electric heater meets a 6.0 kW requirement
Tenancy Services, heating standard, updated 25 September 2025.
2. Insulation
Ceiling and underfloor insulation has been compulsory since 1 July 2019, and the Healthy Homes standard sets the level it must reach. For homes consented before 3 November 2022:
| Zone | Ceiling | Underfloor |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | R 2.9 | R 1.3 |
| Zone 2 | R 2.9 | R 1.3 |
| Zone 3 | R 3.3 | R 1.3 |
Tenancy Services describes zone 3 as including the centre of the North Island, so check its zone map for your address. Ceiling insulation put in before 1 July 2016 must be at least 120mm thick, unless you can prove it met the R value when installed and has lost no more than 30% of its thickness. All insulation must be in reasonable condition, with no mould, damp, damage or gaps, and be installed to NZS 4246:2016.
Exceptions include spaces that cannot be reached safely without substantial work, and ceilings or floors with another living space directly above or below.
Tenancy Services, insulation standard, updated 25 September 2025.
3. Ventilation
Every living room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom needs at least one window, door or skylight that opens to the outside and can be fixed open. Together, the openings in each room must be at least 5% of its floor area.
- Kitchens (any room with a cooktop): an extractor fan or rangehood venting outside, at least 150mm in diameter including ducting, or at least 50 litres a second
- Bathrooms (any room with a shower or bath): at least 120mm in diameter including ducting, or at least 25 litres a second
- Older fans installed before 1 July 2019 can stay if they vent outside and work. Once one fails, its replacement must meet today's sizes
- Does not count: recirculating systems such as HRV and DVS, and fans that do not vent outside
Ask your installer to put the fan size, ducting and flow rate in writing. You will need them for the compliance statement.
Tenancy Services, ventilation standard, updated 25 September 2025.
4. Moisture and drainage
The home needs efficient drainage for storm water, surface water and ground water, with an appropriate outfall, and gutters, downpipes and drains for roof water. If the home has an enclosed subfloor, a ground moisture barrier must be laid there where it is possible to do so.
- A polythene sheet laid to section 8 of NZS 4246:2016. Most building retailers sell it, and an owner can lay it
- Or a barrier with a vapour flow resistance of at least 50 MNs/g, laid by a professional installer
If a professional installer cannot reach the subfloor without substantial work, damage or unusual risk, an exemption can apply. Get that in writing from the installer.
Tenancy Services, moisture ingress and drainage standard, updated 25 September 2025.
5. Draught stopping
Unreasonable gaps or holes in walls, ceilings, windows, floors and doors that cause noticeable draughts must be blocked. Open fireplaces must be closed off and the chimney blocked, unless the tenant asks in writing to use the fireplace.
Tenancy Services, what a landlord needs to know, updated 1 July 2025, and the compliance statement page, updated 9 September 2026.
The Healthy Homes compliance statement.
Every new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement must include a signed statement of how the home meets each standard right now. Tenancy Services has a template, and its tenancy agreement templates include one.
Leaving it out can mean a penalty of up to $500 for each tenancy.
- HeatingThe capacity the main living room needs to reach 18°C, and the type and size of each heater
- InsulationFor each ceiling and underfloor space, the R value or thickness, and the install and inspection dates if known. The reason for any part left uninsulated
- VentilationThat every living space has opening windows or doors, and the size or flow of each kitchen and bathroom fan
- Moisture and drainageThat drainage is efficient, and that every enclosed subfloor has a ground moisture barrier, or that there is none
- Draught stoppingWhether open fireplaces are closed off, and that there are no unreasonable gaps
- Any exemptionWhich one applies, and why
- Your signatureThe landlord, or an agent acting as the landlord, signs it, even when a professional did the assessment
Your Healthy Homes checklist.
Go through it room by room. Anything you cannot tick needs evidence or work.
- Required heating capacity for the main living room worked out, and the result kept
- Fixed heater or heaters installed, each at least 1.5 kW, with a thermostat if electric
- No open fires or unflued heaters relied on
- Ceiling insulation at the right R value, or at least 120mm if put in before July 2016
- Underfloor insulation at R 1.3, unless an exception applies
- Insulation dry, undamaged and without gaps
- Every living space with a window or door that opens and stays open, at least 5% of the floor
- Kitchen fan venting outside: 150mm or 50 litres a second
- Bathroom fan venting outside: 120mm or 25 litres a second
- Gutters, downpipes and drains clear and working
- Ground moisture barrier under any enclosed subfloor
- Draughty gaps blocked, and open fireplaces closed off
- Compliance statement signed and in the tenancy agreement
- Records kept: receipts, installer details, photos and any assessor's report
Do you need a Healthy Homes assessment?
No law says you must use an assessor. What the law does say is that you must be able to show how the home complies, keep the records, and sign the compliance statement. You can work through it yourself with Tenancy Services' guides and its Heating Assessment Tool.
Many landlords still pay for an assessment, because the assessor's report becomes the evidence behind the statement. It is most worth it for older homes, homes with a subfloor you cannot easily get into, and anywhere you are unsure about the heating capacity.
Keeping records
Keep every record that shows how the home complies: receipts, installer details, product data, photos and reports. A tenant can ask for compliance information, and Tenancy Services says it must be provided within 21 days.
Penalties
Not meeting the standards is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act. Tenancy Services says landlords can face penalties of up to $7,200, or up to $50,000 for landlords with six or more rentals. Leaving the compliance statement out of a tenancy agreement can mean up to $500 for each tenancy.
Tenancy Services, All rentals must now comply, 1 July 2025.
- Checked before we startWe ask for the evidence for all five standards before taking on a home, and tell you exactly what is missing.
- The statement in every agreementEvery new, renewed or varied tenancy goes out with a signed compliance statement.
- Watched at every inspectionHeaters, fans, gutters and draughts are looked at every three months, so a failed fan is replaced before it becomes a breach.
- Records kept for youReady to send if a tenant asks, well inside the 21 days.
What landlords ask about Healthy Homes.
Every private rental in New Zealand has had to meet them since 1 July 2025, and any new tenancy must comply from its first day. Ceiling and underfloor insulation has been compulsory since 1 July 2019.
Not always. The rule is one or more fixed heaters that can heat the main living room and meet the required capacity. A heat pump is the usual answer, but a wood burner, pellet burner or flued gas heater can also qualify. If the required capacity is above 2.4 kW, an electric heater other than a heat pump does not count, except as a small top up to older heating.
No. The heater must be fixed. Open fires and unflued heaters, such as portable LPG bottle heaters, never count.
Not for kitchens and bathrooms. Tenancy Services says recirculating systems such as HRV and DVS, and fans that do not vent outside, do not meet the extractor fan rule.
The law does not make you use an assessor, but you must be able to show how the home complies, and you sign the compliance statement either way. Many landlords use an assessor because the report becomes their evidence. Tenancy Services also has a heating assessment tool you can use yourself.
The landlord, or an agent acting as the landlord, such as a property manager. It must be signed even if a professional assessed the home.
Yes. Tenancy Services says a landlord must provide the information within 21 days of a tenant asking.
Up to $7,200 for smaller landlords and up to $50,000 for landlords with six or more rentals, according to Tenancy Services. Leaving the compliance statement out of a tenancy agreement can mean a penalty of up to $500 for each tenancy.
Related guides.
- Property management in HamiltonHealthy Homes, inspections and the paperwork, for 7.75% plus GST.
- First time landlordsEvery rule to meet before your first tenant moves in.
- Smoke alarm rules for rentalsWhere alarms must go, and which alarms are allowed.
- Tenancy law changesWhat changed for landlords, and when.
- All landlord questionsEvery question, grouped by topic.
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