32711 (2025). Tamatha Paul to the Minister of Housing

32711 (2025). Tamatha Paul to the Minister of Housing: How does the Minister intent to monitor compliance with Healthy Homes Standards, if at all?

Hon Chris Bishop: I am advised that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) undertakes both proactive and reactive work to monitor compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and the Healthy Homes Standards. This work can include paper-based assessments as well as physical site visits. TCIT have a range of compliance tools to ensure landlords are meeting their obligations. These include (but are not limited to) formal warnings, enforceable undertakings, improvement notices and infringement notices. In the most serious cases, the team may decide to take proceedings against a landlord in the Tenancy Tribunal. Since the introduction of the Healthy Homes Standards, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has commissioned four Healthy Homes Guarantee Act Monitoring Reports, conducted by Verian. These surveys, carried out annually, specifically asked private landlords about their efforts to prepare their rental properties to meet the requirements of the Healthy Homes Standards more fully. Wave 5 of the survey is underway, with fieldwork now complete and a full report expected in August 2025. My officials are also considering options for further tenant/landlord surveys in the 2025/26 financial year, subject to internal budget decisions. Following a relevant order from the Tenancy Tribunal, landlords failing to meet the requirements of the Healthy Homes Standards may be required to: • pay exemplary damages up to $7,200 • repair their property or undertake maintenance to bring it up to standard within specific timeframes • pay compensation where a tenant has suffered loss as a result of the landlord’s action or inaction.