Many renters live in cold and mouldy houses

Mould in Christchurch Home

Chloe Swarbick, Green Party MP petitions for a rental ‘Warrant of Fitness’ as well as Healthy Homes Regulations in response to finding damp and visible mould in 28,000 New Zealand homes, December 2020.

The warrant of fitness would cover the standards set in the Healthy Homes Regulations for insulation, ventilation and heating. Additionally it would cover basic necessities like smoke alarms, secure locks on doors and windows, and safe electrical wiring to “ensure all rentals are up to standard without a stressful and expensive fight,” Swarbrick. 

Swarbrick also said in response to some landlords that while the Healthy Homes standards were an important step, they were not very enforceable.

However Sharon Cullwick, Property Investors Federation executive officer said that along with their code of compliance certificate, all houses meeting Healthy Homes criteria should have covered the same grounds as the Warrant of Fitness. 

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Adapted from Stuff, (2021). Do we need a rental property warrent of fitness?