What the Heating Standard Actually Requires
The healthy homes heating standard requires one or more fixed heaters in the main living room, with enough capacity to reach and hold 18 degrees. That capacity is calculated from the size of the room, the glazing, the insulation and the local climate. It is not one number that applies to every house.
Not every heater counts either. Open fires, unflued gas heaters and most plug in electric heaters are excluded, and a heater under 1.5kW cannot be the main source on its own.
Get your rental assessed for the healthy homes heating standard
We Do the Calculation for You
Tenancy Services publish a heating assessment tool, but it only gives you a number you can rely on if the measurements going into it are accurate - room dimensions, window area, insulation and construction type all change the answer.
Getting it wrong means either an undersized heater that does not comply, or paying for more capacity than the property needs. We measure it properly on site and tell you the required capacity before you spend anything.
Installed to Suit a Rental
A rental heat pump needs to be robust, simple to operate and easy to service between tenancies. We position the indoor unit where it will genuinely heat the living space rather than where it happens to be quickest to install, and we put the outdoor unit somewhere it will not get damaged or blocked.
We set the controller up sensibly and leave instructions, which cuts down the calls you get from tenants who cannot work out why the room is cold.
Records for Your Tenancy File
Landlords have to be able to show a property meets the standard, and a healthy homes compliance statement has to be included with any new or renewed tenancy agreement. Saying the heat pump looks big enough is not evidence.
We give you the capacity calculation, the specification of what was installed and the installation record, so the file holds up if it is ever questioned.
Portfolios and Property Managers
If you manage a portfolio we will work through the properties as a batch, assess each one, and come back with a schedule of what each needs and what it will cost. That works out cheaper per property than doing them one at a time, and it lets you plan the spend across a year.
We work with private landlords and with property managers right across Northland.
Healthy Homes Heating Questions
What Northland landlords and property managers ask us about the heating standard.
It might, but it has to be the right capacity for that specific room and it has to be a fixed heater in the main living room. Plenty of older units were sized to the budget rather than to the room. We can assess what is already there and tell you whether it meets the required capacity or not.
The largest habitable room used for general everyday living, which is usually the lounge. If the lounge, dining and kitchen are open plan they are treated as one space, which increases the capacity required. That catches a lot of landlords out.
The heating standard applies only to the main living room. Bedrooms do not require a fixed heater under that standard, although the insulation and ventilation requirements apply to the whole house. Many landlords add bedroom heating anyway simply because it makes the property easier to let.
A tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal, and landlords can be ordered to pay exemplary damages on top of being required to bring the property up to standard. Having it assessed and fixed is considerably cheaper than defending it.
An assessment is usually within a week, and a straightforward heat pump installation is a one day job once the unit is here. If you have several properties, tell us up front and we will schedule them together.
Why Choose JP Air Con for Healthy Homes Heating?
Assessment, installation and paperwork from one Northland company.
