HOT PROPERTY

It’s an inescapable fact that Kiwis have long approached heating with a somewhat delusional view of the requirements. New Zealand does not have a sub-tropical climate. In reality, it can get very cold: around a third of households’ energy bills goes towards keeping their home warm in winter. And yet the country’s housing stock doesn’t reflect that.

Until recently, along with a lack of insulation, inadequate ventilation and limited use of features such as double-glazing, the provision of heating sources in houses has been random and often inadequate. The Housing Improvement Regulations 1947 has heating requirements for rental properties, but they seem to have been little known and randomly adhered to.

That’s why heating is one of the Government’s new Healthy Homes minimum standards for rental properties which became law on July 1. So, in this, the final instalment of our three part series,