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A healthy homes inspection checklist for one New Zealand rental home, filled in on a phone as you walk round. One page for each of the five healthy homes standards, each counting what is still open; the last page lists the exemptions relied on, the work needed, the records held and the details the compliance statement asks for. It works alongside the damp and mould inspection form when a home has a damp problem, and the property inventory at the start of a tenancy.
For New Zealand landlords, property managers and healthy homes assessors checking a rental home before a new tenancy, a renewal or after work is done.
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A healthy homes assessment checks a New Zealand rental home against the five healthy homes standards: heating in the main living room, ceiling and underfloor insulation, ventilation through openable windows and extractor fans, moisture ingress and drainage including a ground moisture barrier, and draught stopping. It records the evidence for each, any exemption relied on and the work still needed. Every rental home has had to comply since 1 July 2025, and the landlord must sign a compliance statement in each new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 25 October 2026 against Tenancy Services, healthy homes standards, Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019, Tenancy Services, heating standard, Tenancy Services, insulation standard, Tenancy Services, ventilation standard, Tenancy Services, moisture ingress and drainage standard, Tenancy Services, draught stopping standard, Tenancy Services, healthy homes compliance, Tenancy Services, compliance statement and Tenancy Services, exemptions to the healthy homes standards.
The form follows the five standards in the order you meet them walking round, then a summary. The landlord, or an agent acting as the landlord, signs the compliance statement.
Find the main living room, the largest room used for everyday living. Work out the required heating capacity with the Heating Assessment Tool on tenancy.govt.nz, then record each fixed heater that heats it: type, kW and whether it was installed before 1 July 2019. Open fires, unflued gas heaters and portable heaters are not counted.
Pick the climate zone from the map. In the roof space, record the R-value from the packaging or a label, or measure the thickness, and the condition. Do the same under the floor. Note whether the walls are insulated, if you can find out without making holes.
Go room by room. For living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, measure the floor and add up the openable area of windows, doors and skylights that open to the outside; the form works out whether it is at least 5%. Check each kitchen and bathroom fan vents outside and is big enough.
Walk the outside: gutters, downpipes and drains taking the roof water away, and drainage with an outfall for storm water, surface water and ground water. If there is an enclosed subfloor, check for a ground moisture barrier and its condition.
Look for unreasonable gaps or holes in walls, ceilings, windows, skylights, floors and doors that cause noticeable draughts. An open fireplace must be closed off or the chimney blocked, unless the tenant has asked in writing to use it.
The summary counts what is open across all five standards. Record any exemption with its circumstances, the work needed and who will do it, and the records held. The landlord or property manager signs the statement.
What each standard asks for, in short. The form follows the same order; check the detail on tenancy.govt.nz before you rely on it.
| Standard | What it asks for | The form records |
|---|---|---|
| Heating | Fixed heating that can directly heat the main living room, with at least the required heating capacity. No open fires or unflued combustion heaters; heat pumps and electric heaters need a thermostat. | Required kW and method, each heater's type and kW, the total counted, the 80% tolerance and the top-up rule |
| Insulation | Ceiling insulation of at least R2.9 (zones 1 and 2) or R3.3 (zone 3), or 120 mm if installed before 1 July 2016; underfloor R1.3; in reasonable condition. | Zone, R-value or thickness, install date, condition and the reason for any space left uninsulated |
| Ventilation | Windows, doors or skylights opening to the outside in each habitable room, at least 5% of the floor; extractor fans venting outside in kitchens (150 mm or 50 L/s) and bathrooms (120 mm or 25 L/s). | Each room's size, openable area and share of the floor, and each fan's size, age and venting |
| Moisture ingress and drainage | Efficient drainage for storm water, surface water and ground water, gutters and downpipes for roof water, and a ground moisture barrier in an enclosed subfloor where one can be installed. | Roof water, drainage, signs of water getting in, the subfloor and the barrier type and condition |
| Draught stopping | No unreasonable gaps or holes causing noticeable draughts; open fireplaces closed off or the chimney blocked, unless the tenant asks in writing to use it. | Gaps found and where, the fireplace and any written request |
Sources: Tenancy Services, healthy homes standards and Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019.
A three-bedroom weatherboard house in Hamilton, zone 2. Required heating capacity 5.2 kW from the Heating Assessment Tool; a 6.0 kW heat pump with a thermostat in the lounge, so heating reads met. Ceiling R3.2 in reasonable condition, underfloor R1.3 polystyrene, polythene ground moisture barrier in place. Every habitable room above 5% openable, but the bathroom fan recirculates, so ventilation shows one item open and an action goes on the summary before the statement is signed.
Fictional example. Record the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job.
Copying last year's statement without going into the roof space or under the floor, and counting a portable heater or a bathroom fan that does not vent outside.
Fix the open items, record any exemption with its circumstances, and put the details in the compliance statement for the tenancy agreement. Keep the assessment, photos and documents with the property's records.
Each standard gets its own page, and each page counts what is still open. The form does the sums you would otherwise do on the back of the clipboard: heating capacity against the requirement, each room's openable area as a share of its floor, and whether a fan is big enough for its age.
Enter the required capacity from the Heating Assessment Tool, then each fixed heater. Open fires, unflued gas and portable heaters are not counted, the 80% tolerance is checked for heaters installed before 1 July 2019, and a heat pump without a thermostat is flagged.
How calculated fields work →
Measure the room, or measure from a photo, and add up the windows, doors and skylights that open to the outside and stay open. The form works out the share of the floor and says whether it reaches 5%. Each room is a space with its own photos.
How calculated fields work →
Kitchens are checked against 150 mm or 50 L/s and bathrooms against 120 mm or 25 L/s for fans installed from 1 July 2019; older fans must vent outside and work. A recirculating fan is flagged straight away and counts as open.
The summary adds up all five standards. Record any exemption with its circumstances, the work needed and who will do it, and the records you hold; the landlord or property manager signs the statement once nothing is open.
18 Rimu Crescent, a three-bedroom weatherboard house in Hamilton (zone 2), assessed before a new tenancy: a 6.0 kW heat pump against a required 5.2 kW, ceiling insulation R3.2 and underfloor R1.3 in reasonable condition, every habitable room above 5% openable, a 150 mm kitchen fan, a polythene ground moisture barrier and the fireplace blocked. The bathroom fan recirculates into the roof space, so ventilation shows one item open and the work needed is booked before the statement is signed.
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A healthy homes assessment for a New Zealand rental home: the main living room heating against the required capacity, ceiling and underfloor insulation against the zone R-values, each room's openable windows and fans, drainage and the ground moisture barrier, draught stopping, exemptions, and the details for the compliance statement. 7 sections and 128 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
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Each section opens on its own. The first is open; tap a heading to see the rest.
A short name, such as 14 Kōwhai Street or Flat 2.
From the zone map on tenancy.govt.nz. Zone 1 is the top of the North Island, zone 2 the rest of the North Island apart from the central plateau, zone 3 the central North Island and all of the South Island.
Homes consented under the 2021 Building Code insulation rules meet the insulation standard through the Building Code.
The largest room used for everyday living, such as the lounge, family room or dining room.
Keep it with the records. Its figure goes on the compliance statement.
From the label, the manufacturer or the installer. For a wood burner, the label, the manufacturer or council records.
For example, a professional installer cannot reach the area without substantial building work or damage, or the building is a certified passive building. Describe it on the last page.
Measure where it has not been squashed.
Existing ceiling insulation installed before 1 July 2016 meets the standard at 120 mm or more.
The statement must say whether the walls are insulated, if a reasonable effort can find out. Holes do not need to be made in walls to check.
Tape or laser, or measure from a photo of the wall with the door in it. A photo measure is an estimate.
Only openings that open to the outside and can be fixed in the open position. Add them together.
An exemption applies to a room that was lawful when built or converted. Keep the evidence.
From the installer, in writing.
From the installer, in writing.
Not part of the count, but worth fixing; damp makes a home harder to heat.
For example, a professional installer confirms there is not enough space under the house. Keep the confirmation.
This wording goes in the compliance statement.
Keep the records that show how the home complies. A tenant who asks for compliance information must get it within 21 days.
A completed healthy homes assessment report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
The landlord can assess the home themselves, or use a property manager or a professional assessor. Tenancy Services says a professional can assess the property and provide the information, but the compliance statement must be made and signed by the landlord, or by an agent acting as the landlord such as a property manager. Whoever does it, keep the records: the form holds the readings, photos and documents in one place.
Every private rental home must comply from 1 July 2025. Kāinga Ora and registered community housing providers had to comply by 1 July 2024, and boarding houses by 1 July 2021. Before July 2025, private landlords had 90 or 120 days from a new or renewed tenancy, depending on when it began. A landlord who breaches the standards can face a financial penalty of up to $7,200.
Use the Heating Assessment Tool on tenancy.govt.nz, the formula in the regulations, or a specialist assessment that sizes heating to bring the room to at least 18°C. Enter the required kW in the form, then each fixed heater with its kW. Existing heaters installed before 1 July 2019, each over 2.4 kW, meet the standard if together they reach 80% of the required capacity. Where the required capacity is over 2.4 kW, an electric heater other than a heat pump only counts as a top-up of 2.4 kW or less to heating installed before 1 July 2019.
Sources: Tenancy Services, heating standard and Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019.
For homes consented before 3 November 2022, ceiling insulation needs R2.9 in zones 1 and 2 and R3.3 in zone 3, and underfloor insulation R1.3. Existing ceiling insulation installed before 1 July 2016 meets the standard if it is at least 120 mm thick. All of it must be in reasonable condition, with no mould, dampness, damage or gaps. Spaces with a habitable space directly above or below, or that cannot be reached safely or practicably, can be exempt. Homes consented under the 2021 Building Code insulation rules meet the standard through the Building Code.
A fan installed on or after 1 July 2019 must vent outside and, in a room with a cooktop, have a diameter of at least 150 mm including ducting or an exhaust capacity of at least 50 L/s; in a room with a shower or bath, at least 120 mm or 25 L/s. Fans installed before 1 July 2019 must vent outside and be in good working order. Recirculating systems, and fans that do not vent outside, do not meet the standard. Ask the installer for the fan's diameter, ducting and flow rate in writing.
For heating, the required capacity and the type and kW of the heater in the main living room; for insulation, the R-value or thickness of each ceiling and underfloor space and why any is uninsulated; for ventilation, that each habitable space has an openable window or door and how the kitchen and bathroom comply; for moisture, that the drainage is efficient and whether there is a ground moisture barrier; for draughts, the fireplace and that the home is free of unreasonable gaps; plus any exemption. A tenancy agreement without the statement can bring a penalty of up to $500 per tenancy. The form's pages hold each of these details.
Each of the heating, insulation, ventilation and moisture standards has its own exemptions, mostly where the work is not reasonably practicable, for example a professional installer cannot reach the area without substantial building work or damage. General exemptions cover a tenant who was the immediate former owner (12 months), a home due for demolition or substantial rebuild with consent applied for (up to 12 months), and a landlord who does not own the whole building, who must still take all reasonable steps. Draught stopping has no exemption. Exemptions must be included in the tenancy agreement; the form records each one with its circumstances and evidence.
Source: Tenancy Services, exemptions to the healthy homes standards.
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