The five Healthy Homes Standards require specific licensed tradespeople for most of the work involved. This guide tells you who needs what qualification — and how to document it if you're ever asked.
Healthy Homes is one layer of a broader compliance picture.
Every business sending a contractor to a property also carries a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
What that obligation actually requires →
A fixed heating device capable of maintaining 18°C in the main living room. Heat pumps are the most common solution for NZ rentals.
A qualifying fixed heater installed in the main living area — most commonly an inverter heat pump. The heater must be able to maintain the required temperature based on the room size. Portable heaters don't count.
Ceiling insulation to a minimum R-value of 2.9 and underfloor insulation to R-value 1.3, where installation is reasonably practicable.
Existing ceiling and underfloor insulation must meet minimum R-values, or be topped up to meet them. Any insulation installed after 1 July 2016 must already meet the standard. You need documentation confirming the R-values achieved.
Extractor fans in each kitchen and bathroom, ducted directly outside (not into the ceiling void). Openable windows in each habitable room.
Kitchen fans must have a minimum extraction capacity of 50 litres/second. Bathroom fans must be 25 litres/second or have a window. All fans must duct outside — recirculating fans don't comply. Fans must be controlled by the occupant or auto-triggered.
Efficient drainage to remove storm and surface water, and a ground moisture barrier in all enclosed subfloor spaces where one can reasonably be installed.
All drainage must carry water away from the building effectively. Any enclosed subfloor space must have a ground moisture barrier covering the ground, with the barrier correctly overlapped and weighted. Where a barrier cannot be installed reasonably, that must be documented.
All unreasonable gaps in walls, floors, ceilings, and around windows must be filled or sealed. Does not apply to intentional ventilation openings.
Draught stopping applies to gaps that allow unreasonable draughts into habitable rooms. Common areas: gaps around pipes and wiring penetrations, unsealed skirting boards, gaps under exterior doors, gaps around chimneys no longer in use.
Tenancy Services can issue compliance orders and financial penalties for each standard breached — not per tenancy, per standard. A property that fails heating, ventilation, and drainage could face three separate penalties. The Tribunal can also order rent reductions, award exemplary damages up to $3,000 for deliberate non-compliance, and compel remediation work.
The question a Tenancy Tribunal will ask: Did you take reasonable steps to ensure the work was carried out by qualified, insured contractors? Without a documented record of who did the work and what their qualifications were, "reasonable steps" is very hard to prove.
Contractor uploads their EWRB or PGDB certificate. The system cross-checks against the register. You see a confirmed status — not just what they told you.
Public liability insurance, H&S plan, trade licence — all stored against the contractor's profile. You see expiry dates, current status, and the history of every upload.
At 30, 14, and 7 days before a document expires, TrustPoint notifies the contractor. You get notified if they don't act. No more lapsed insurance discovered after the job's done.
Every verification, approval, and status change is logged with a timestamp and hash chain. If a Tribunal or insurer questions your due diligence, you have an unambiguous record.
Before you send anyone to a property, their compliance state is visible: Ready, At Risk, Restricted, or Blocked. You can see at a glance whether it's safe to proceed.
Your tradespeople don't pay anything. That means they'll actually use it — which means the records are actually there when you need them.
TrustPoint lets you verify your contractors, track their registrations, and build the record that proves you did your due diligence — before the job and after.
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