Healthy Homes Standards
Below is a summary list for rentals.
Or
Why you should replace your old home with a QuickBuild Home
or two.
Heating
Landlords must provide one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room to a temperature of at least 18 degrees Celcius.
Moisture Ingress
Rentals with enclosed sub-floor space must have a ground moisture barrier.
Insulation
Complusory underfloor and ceiling insulation. If installed after 2016, the R2.9 to ceiling and underfloor R1.3. This does vary by area so check www tenancy.govt.nz (QBH homes come with 4.8 as standard to floor, walls and roof from Jan 2022)
Ventilation
Must have openable windows, kitchens and bathrooms must have extractor fans.
Draught stopping
No gaps in walls, ceiling, windows or doors.
This is just the start of Healthy Homes. It is our opinion that over time, these standards are likely to increase
Electrical checks with compulsory RCD's and possibly Active Fault detectors. For many homes this will involve a complete re-wire. Homes are lost each year due to electrical faults that modern systems would prevent.
Double glazing is another increase in standards that is long overdue, along with wall insulation.
Once all these things are factored in, the gap in costs between a new replacement home, and upgrading an existing old home, is going to become smaller.
With the price of a QuickBuild Home, that gap becomes even smaller. Then factor in a better use of land, as often you can put two new homes where there was only one before, and higher rental income associated with a new home, and it often makes more financial sense to demolish an existing home and replace it with two new homes. Greater income, better tenants, higher capital value and lower lower maintenance costs.
QuickBuild homes has significantly better insulation and more resilient walls and is designed with rentals in mind, they are the answer to those people with an eye on the future.