The standards, and who they apply to
Every rental must comply with the healthy homes standards. They cover heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping. Private rentals have had to comply since 1 July 2025. Kāinga Ora and community housing provider homes had to comply by 1 July 2024, and boarding houses by 1 July 2021.
Landlords who breach the standards can face financial penalties of up to $7,200. Every new or renewed tenancy agreement must include a signed healthy homes compliance statement, and leaving it out could mean a penalty of up to $500 for each tenancy.
Heating: what counts
The heating standard needs one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room, with enough capacity to heat it to 18°C and keep it there. Each heater used to meet the standard must have a heating capacity of at least 1.5 kW. Open fires and unflued heaters, like portable LPG bottle heaters, don't count.
Fixed means secured to the property, not necessarily hard-wired, so a plug-in heater can count if it's secured. A heat pump or electric heater used to meet the standard must have a thermostat. If the living room needs more than 2.4 kW of heating, an electric heater other than a heat pump can't be used, except as a small top-up to qualifying heating installed before 1 July 2019.
Most rentals meet the standard with a heat pump, a wood burner, a pellet burner or a flued gas heater. Electric underfloor heating may also be acceptable if it directly heats the living room, has a thermostat, and has a capacity between 1.5 and 2.4 kW. If there's more than one living room, only the largest needs heating, along with any space that's always open to it, like an open-plan kitchen.
Working out the heating capacity
Tenancy Services gives three ways to work out how much heating the main living room needs: its online heating assessment tool, the formulas in the regulations, or an assessment by certain qualified specialists. The tool asks about the home's location, build date, insulation, room layout and other features, and produces a report you can keep as evidence.
Tenancy Services notes the tool can't account for every situation, such as sloped roofs or irregular ceilings. When choosing a heat pump, use the standardised heating capacity on its label, measured at 7°C, rather than the capacity range.
Extractor fans: the sizes
| Kitchen | Room with a shower or bath | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum diameter, including ducting | 150 mm | 120 mm |
| Or minimum exhaust capacity | 50 litres per second | 25 litres per second |
| Applies to fans installed | Since 1 July 2019 | Since 1 July 2019 |
| Older fans | Can stay if they vent outside and work properly | Can stay if they vent outside and work properly |
| Must extract to | The outdoors | The outdoors |
Ventilation: what catches landlords out
Recirculating systems and fans that don't extract to the outdoors don't meet the ventilation standard. A rangehood that filters air and blows it back into the kitchen won't count, however powerful it is.
A fan installed before 1 July 2019 can stay while it vents outside and works properly. Once it stops working, it has to be repaired or replaced with a fan that meets the sizes above. Tenancy Services suggests getting the fan diameter, ducting and flow rate details from the installer in writing, so ask for them on the invoice.
Where the electrician comes in
Tenancy Services says landlords must employ a licensed electrical worker for prescribed electrical work, and that in most cases new heating will need to be installed by a licensed building practitioner, licensed electrical worker or licensed gas worker. Landlords and tenants can't do electrical work in a rental unless they hold a practising licence themselves.
New extractor fans, a new circuit for a heat pump, or a hard-wired heater will usually come with an Electrical Safety Certificate, and new circuits come with a Certificate of Compliance as well. Keep both with your healthy homes records. A healthy homes assessor can tell you what's missing, but the assessment itself is their job, not an electrician's. The electrician fixes what they find. Heat pump wiring covers the circuit side of a new heat pump.
Records worth keeping
- The heating assessment tool report, or whichever method you used to work out the required capacity.
- The type of heater in the main living room and its heating capacity in kilowatts.
- The diameter or exhaust capacity of each extractor fan used to comply.
- Ceiling and underfloor insulation details, including R-values.
- Certificates from the electrician for any new fans, circuits or heaters.
- If you rely on the 'not reasonably practicable' heating exemption, a written record of a professional's opinion.
Smoke alarms sit alongside
Smoke alarms aren't one of the healthy homes standards, but they're compulsory in every rental under separate rules. New or replacement alarms must be photoelectric with a battery life of at least 8 years, or hard-wired. Our page on smoke alarm rules sets out where they go and who maintains them.
Landlord, tenant and electrician
You can
- Landlords: work out the heating capacity and keep the report.
- Landlords: check fans still vent outside and work, and fix them promptly when they don't.
- Landlords: keep every record, make it available on request, and give tenants the information within 21 days, as Tenancy Services requires.
- Tenants: clean an accessible heat pump and its filters, and keep the outdoor unit clear.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Installing extractor fans and their wiring.
- New circuits for heat pumps or hard-wired heaters.
- Any electrical repair in a rental, whoever owns or lives in it.
- Issuing the certificates you'll need for your records.
What we'd do as a landlord
We'd run the heating tool first, so we know the number we're aiming for before anyone quotes. Then we'd get one electrician to do the fans and any heating circuits in a single visit, and ask for the fan sizes and certificates on the same invoice. That one document covers most of what you'd need to show later.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.