Compliance Checks underway for Statements of Insulation

The new Residential Tenancies Act regulations came into force from 1 July 2016 and while insulation is not mandatory till July 2019 there are two important changes that are in force already:

• All rentals must now have working smoke alarms
• All leases agreements made since 1 July 2016 must include a Statement of Insulation.

MBIE has already got it’s Compliance and Investigation Team underway and have started checking rental properties for compliance with these two reguations with rental checks in Dunedin.

"Our Dunedin visit was just the start of these operations. We will be in cities and towns across New Zealand to raise awareness of the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords, and to ensure landlords are complying fully with the recent changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.

The level of non-compliance identified during this operation was concerning, especially in the area of the current insulation statements now required on tenancy agreements."

Paul Coggan, Manager of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s new Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team

Breaches of the new RTA regulations will be subject to compliance action and may incur exemplary damages of up to $4,000 per breach.

The Statement of Insulation that is required needs to include the location, type and condition of the insulation. Smart Energy Solutions can assist by providing Statements of Insulation for rental properties for just $149 - and that charge is refundable if you purchase insulation from us in the coming period. We can also provide quotes for insulation and we have insulation subsidies available for eligible properties.

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