Healthy Homes Standards
New Zealand minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping in residential rental properties, enforced under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The Healthy Homes Standards set specific, measurable requirements for five areas of a rental property: a fixed heater in the main living room sized to the room, ceiling and underfloor insulation meeting minimum R-values, an extraction fan in kitchens and bathrooms, protection from moisture and adequate drainage, and stopping unreasonable draughts.
Compliance is mandatory for all private residential rentals, and a compliance statement must be included with new, renewed, or varied tenancy agreements. A separate Healthy Homes Standards Report documents the assessment against each standard.
Tenancy Services, administered by MBIE, publishes the full technical detail of each standard and is the primary source landlords should reference when assessing compliance.
Primary source
Tenancy Services — Healthy Homes Standards →Last reviewed 15 April 2026. Rates, thresholds, and deadlines change — always verify against the primary source before making decisions.