This week has been one of learning for us, particularly in our Property Management business. There have been a number of new issues to be aware of that as a property owner you should understand. Firstly, the Residential Tenancies Act, from the 1st of July requires owners of rental properties to have enough working smoke alarms as described in the current building act. The number is determined by the number of bedrooms, number of levels and size of a house. The basic rule of thumb is one smoke alarm within three metres of a bedroom. On behalf of the large number of owners we have negotiated a very good contract rate with Smoke Alarm Professionals who will install the correct number of alarms and service them for an annual fee. It is an excellent service and one that will bring all our managed properties into line with the new legislation. Second, from the 1st of July owners will have to state the type and condition of insulation on a separate statement at signing of the management authority. Owners will then have three years to bring the insulation in their properties into line with existing building codes. With smoke alarms being the current priority and due to the slow nature of information coming from the Ministry of Building and Housing, we have little information but will be sharing it as soon as we know. Third, there has been a lot made of the methamphetamine manufacture and use in rental properties over the past few months. It is a problem for some parts of the country and rather than take a reactive approach we are now adding to all tenancy agreements an addendum outlining the owner’s right to sampling properties mid tenancy. Additionally we are recommending owners undertake sampling for methamphetamine between tenancies as we are seeing examples of tenants being compensated by owners who have accused tenants of meth contamination of a property without having a base test to work from, so not having proof it was the current tenants who contaminated the home. Meth is very real, but what we are hearing is the guideline around safe and unsafe levels, the difference between producing and smoking and the quality of testing is completely unregulated so is open to rather broad interpretation. Regulation should arrive pre-Christmas according to government sources so again when we know anything we will pass it on to our clients as soon as possible. The quality of homes in NZ has needed a shake up for some time and with new legislation pushing for better quality of housing and healthier warmer homes for tenants. As experts in the field of Property Management please do give us a call if you have a property you want managed as the current rental environment is very complex and you need only the best working on your behalf. Leave a Reply. |
James Twiss
Licensed Business Owner of Harcourts Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd Greg Roberts
Licensed Business Owner of Harcourts Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd Archives
September 2020
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