Property Management Newsletter – July

Interesting decision from the Tenancy Tribunal this month – the Tribunal awarded a tenant exemplary damages because the property that they rented did not have heating – $500.00. It is important to remember the following:
Section 45 of the Act requires every landlord to comply with all requirements in respect of building health and safety, under any enactments so far as they apply to the premises The Housing Improvement Regulation 1947 clause 6 requires that every living room have an approved form of heating. The definition of ‘approved form of heating’ may differ between councils around the country however it is more than supplying a plug in the lounge for something to be connected to. Failure to comply with this is an unlawful Act
In making an award for exemplary damages the Tribunal is required by Section 109(3) of the Act to consider if it would be just to make an award. The Tribunal should take into account the intent of the landlord committing the unlawful act, the effect of the act on the tenant, the interests of the parties and the public interest in the matter.
Given that the Government is in the process of passing the Healthy Homes Act – you can be sure that heating will feature heavily in this Act and not just in the living room, but throughout the house. Fines will be enforced for those people who do not comply. The decision from the Tribunal is posted online but if you wish to read further READ MORE

It’s Conference time – the REINZ is holding its Residential Property Management conference in Auckland at the beginning of August and most of the Property Management team will be attending. As a REINZ Accredited Property Management company – we adhere to the REINZ ethics and guidelines. Some of the speakers to headline at this conference will be the Honourable Phil Twyford, Paul Davis from MBIE talking about compliance, and Melissa Poole (Head Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicator), and some of the topics that will be discussed will be on Healthy Warm Homes, Compliance, Asbestos, Trust Accounting, and Technology. It will be an action-packed day providing relevant information on the changing legislation that will be unfolding and coming into force within the property management industry in the upcoming months. Rest assured that your Property Management team at WKB will always be fully updated with all things PM!!

A reminder again – there is only 11 months left to get insulation installed to your rental property (if you haven’t already). Don’t leave it till the last minute. MBIE has advised that there will be fines for those properties that do not comply.