Healthy Homes heating requirements — a landlord’s guide

What the standard actually requires

Every private rental in New Zealand must have a fixed heating device in the main living room that can reach and maintain 18°C. It has to be a fixed appliance — portable heaters, unflued gas heaters and open fires don’t count. For most Auckland rentals, that means a heat pump.

The required capacity isn’t a guess or a rule of thumb. It’s a calculation based on the size of the living room, ceiling height, window area, orientation and insulation levels.

Work out the required capacity properly

Tenancy Services provides an official heating assessment tool. For a rental, use it — and keep the report. Using a different tool or a tradesperson’s rule of thumb does not guarantee compliance, and an alternative method can underestimate what’s required.

Government heating assessment tool →

Our own sizing calculator is a fast guide for owner-occupiers and for scoping a job, but it is not a compliance tool. For a rental, the official tool is the one that counts.

The mistake that catches landlords out

Heat pump capacity is quoted at standard test conditions, but the Healthy Homes calculation is based on capacity at the H2 test standard — a colder, more demanding condition. A unit whose nameplate says it clears the requirement may not clear it at H2.

This is the single most common compliance failure we see: a correctly installed, perfectly good heat pump that simply doesn’t have the rated output the standard demands. The fix is to check the H2 figure before ordering, not after.

What non-compliance costs

The Tenancy Tribunal can award exemplary damages for breaches of the heating standard, and awards in real cases have run into the thousands of dollars per breach. Alongside that sits the cost of replacing an undersized unit you’ve already paid to install. Getting it right the first time is materially cheaper.

What we do for landlords and property managers

• Run the official assessment for the property and confirm the required capacity
• Recommend a unit that meets it at H2, not just on the nameplate
• Supply and install it, certified to AS/NZS 3000
• Provide the documentation you need for your compliance records

If you manage multiple properties, we’re happy to work through them as a batch and keep the paperwork consistent. Get in touch and we’ll sort the whole portfolio.

Choosing a unit for a rental

Two practical points. First, don’t undersize to save money — it fails compliance and costs you twice. Second, think about running costs for the tenant: a properly sized unit in a well-insulated room is cheap to run, which means it actually gets used, which means fewer damp and mould complaints coming back to you.

See current heat pump prices, or get in touch for a portfolio quote.