Healthy Homes Act: A Guide for Landlords and Renters

Are you a landlord or property manager?

Do you live in a rented home?

The new Healthy Homes legislation officially becomes law on 1 July 2019. Do you know what it means for you?

The healthy home standards aim to ensure that rental properties are maintained to high quality and that fewer rental homes experience issues with draughts, cold and dampness. Private landlords must meet the new obligations within two years (by 1 July 2021).

The requirements of landlords include:

Heating

The main living room must have a qualifying heater. The heater needs to be fixed to the premises, supply heat to the living room and have a thermostat.  Aa minimum capacity of 1.5kW is required. The heating capacity must be suitable for the size of the room and in accordance with the government’s official calculations.

It also can’t be an open fire, combustion heater, or if the room requires more than 2.4kW of heat, an electric heater. Essentially, these regulations mean that your home is most likely to be fitted with a heat pump which could mean a reduction in heating bills for tenants as well!

How will I know if I’ve got the right heater? You can calculate the transmission heat loss, ventilation loss and so forth using the supplied equations in the legislation. There will also be online calculators available, however, one of the easiest and safest ways to ensure you get it right is to simply contact a Daikin specialist who will visit your home and provide you with an accurate quote and further recommendations. Our dealers have years of experience making them experts at fitting just the right heat pump for your space, meaning you can trust us to make sure your home is heating compliant.

Insulation

You will need to install ceiling and underfloor insulation (for premises with suspended floors) if your home has not been fitted already. Exceptions to this include living spaces with other living spaces directly above or below respectively. You will need to ensure that you select the right kind of insulation- it is best to contact a professional insulation provider, many of whom will visit your home and make an official assessment for you.

Ventilation standards

Every habitable part of the property must have at least 1 openable window and/or door being the equivalent size of at least 5% of the floor area. It must be able to be left open while the premises are occupied. You will also need to ensure that you have extractor fans installed in your kitchen and bathroom areas that the fans and exhaust ducting are of an acceptable size- being 150mm in diameter and 50 l/s for kitchens and 120mm and 25l/s for bathrooms.

Draught Stopping

Open fireplaces must be blocked, as well as gaps and holes that allow draughts (except for intentional parts of the construction. Gaps and holes will be assessed by size, location, and potential for cold/draughts when determining if they are reasonable or unreasonable.

Moisture Ingress and Drainage

The building must have an efficient drainage system that drains stormwater, surface water, and groundwater to an appropriate outfall and removes water from the roof. If the subfloor space is enclosed it must have a suitable ground barrier installed which resists the flow of vapor. 

Trust Daikin to take care of your heating requirements for your Healthy Home. You can contact a Daikin dealer who can help by clicking here. For more details see the full document here. This list is intended as a general guide only and does not constitute legal advice.