There is a lot going on in the world of property management at this time.

 

  • Legislative insulation deadline for 1 July is all but nearly here
  • The Healthy Homes Bill comes into effect from 1 July and owners have until 1 July 2021 to make sure they comply. For many owners this will involve some additional topping up of insulation, and installing ground vapour barriers, but for most properties it will involve the installation of kitchen and bathroom extraction fans. However over the next 2-3 months we will be advising you further of what is required, and what you may need to do.
  • Yet another document is required to be included on all Tenancy Agreements and lease renewals from 1 July 2019 – this document is called ‘A statement of Intent’ and it refers to the Landlord’s obligation to comply with the healthy homes standards as required by section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act. As we’ve mentioned above, the Healthy Homes Bill legislation comes into full effect from 1 July 2021, however steps must be taken over the next 2 years to make sure properties are compliant with the legislative requirements. As with insulation required for 1 July 2019, if owners don’t have properties compliant by the 2021 deadline, then they are not able to be rented. Failure to include the ‘Statement of Intent’ into Tenancy Agreements and lease renewals can incur a fine of up to $500.00. Failure for owners to comply with the Healthy Homes Bill by July 2021, can result in fines of up to $4000 to owners.
  • The guidelines from the Privacy Commission are currently under review. The guidelines fall into 3 categories ‘Always justified’, ‘Sometimes justified’ and ‘Almost never justified’ – at the moment, some of the items in each category contradict each other, so we are waiting for further clarification. Possibly one of the most important processes in securing a new tenant for a property, is the application process, and we make no apologies for the rigorous processing that we carry out. Restrictions to the information we can ask on an application will not be well received, however, we will be required to adhere to the Act when the finalisation of this review takes place. We  will update you all accordingly.
  • We are already getting the odd student enquiry for next year!! We will be on to all matters ‘student’ come the end of July, so expect to hear from your property manager very soon (if you haven’t already).

 

Rest assured we are here to help make compliancy legislation easy to understand and easy to carry out. Your property manager is your ‘compliancy’ friend when it comes to all things Tenancy related.