Healthy Homes Compliance: What Tenancy Tribunal Decisions Teach Landlords
Healthy Homes compliance is not a box you tick once. It is a duty that runs for the whole tenancy, and a growing number of disputes are testing whether landlords have actually kept it up. A look at how the Tenancy Tribunal handles these cases is one of the most useful things a landlord can do, because it shows exactly where owners get caught out and exactly what protects them.
This article walks through what recent Tribunal decisions reveal about Healthy Homes compliance in New Zealand: who raises these issues, which problems come up most, what evidence actually defends a claim, and which common arguments offer landlords almost no protection. If you want the full breakdown of the standards themselves, our Healthy Homes Standards guide covers that. This piece is about what happens when compliance is challenged.
What does Healthy Homes compliance actually require?
In short: a landlord must meet the Healthy Homes Standards and keep meeting them for the entire tenancy, not just at the point the property is first rented or a compliance statement is signed. Under section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, maintaining compliance is an ongoing obligation. A property that was compliant two years ago is not automatically compliant today.
That single point, that compliance is continuous rather than a one-off, is where most of the risk sits, and it runs through almost everything below.
Who raises Healthy Homes issues at the Tribunal?
Mostly tenants. A privately commissioned study, the Healthy Homes Standards Enforcement Report 2026 (commissioned by MiHT Home Energy Care), reviewed 348 publicly available Tenancy Tribunal decisions from January to May 2026 that referenced the Healthy Homes Standards. It found that 77 per cent of those cases were started by tenants.
This is privately commissioned research rather than government guidance, so treat it as a snapshot of how matters are being argued rather than as official statistics. Even as a snapshot, the message is clear. Compliance is not something you can quietly let slide and hope nobody notices. A tenant who is cold, damp or dealing with mould has a direct route to the Tribunal, and they are using it.
For a landlord, the practical takeaway is that ongoing maintenance, quick responses to concerns and good record-keeping are not administrative nice-to-haves. They are your first line of defence.
Moisture and mould: the most common problem, and the most misunderstood
Moisture and drainage were the most frequently identified issue in the research, appearing in 135 of the decisions reviewed. The problems ranged from leaking or defective gutters and downpipes, to damp coming through walls or floors, to missing ground moisture barriers, to mould caused by ongoing moisture.
The hard lesson is that treating the visible problem is often not enough. Repeatedly repairing the same leak, repainting a stained ceiling, or cleaning and painting over mould may not resolve the underlying breach if the source of the moisture is still there. The research noted that repeated unsuccessful repairs can be viewed as one continuing issue rather than a series of separate events, and that painting over mould was treated as an aggravating factor in around 10 per cent of the moisture-related cases.
Tenant behaviour can be part of the picture, but it has to be backed by evidence. Where there was objective proof that a tenant caused or significantly contributed to mould, that mattered. Where the real cause was a building issue, such as moisture getting in, poor insulation or inadequate ventilation, blaming the tenant generally did not succeed.
The rule of thumb: when moisture or mould is reported, find the cause, do not just treat the symptom.
Insulation is not a set-and-forget job
Insulation featured in 106 of the decisions. The important point for landlords is that an old insulation assessment or installation record does not prove the property is compliant now. Underfloor insulation was an issue in 28 per cent of the insulation cases and ceiling insulation in 26 per cent.
Insulation moves, sags, gets damaged and gets disturbed during other building work. If there has been work in the roof space or under the floor, or any reason to doubt the original installation is still doing its job, it is worth reassessing. And where remedial work is done, get evidence that it was completed to the required standard. A receipt that says the work happened is worth far more than a memory that it did.
A rent arrears case can turn into a Healthy Homes case
Here is a trap that surprises owners. Of the decisions reviewed, 87 involved rent arrears. In a number of them, the landlord had gone to the Tribunal to recover unpaid rent, and the tenant raised Healthy Homes concerns as a counterclaim.
These are separate issues, but the Tribunal can consider them in the same proceeding. So you can have a perfectly legitimate claim for unpaid rent and still end up with an award made against you for a Healthy Homes breach. The lesson is to deal with maintenance and compliance promptly and on their own merits, rather than assuming they will fade into the background because the main dispute is about money.
What actually helped landlords defend a claim?
Only 18 of the landlords in the research successfully defended a primary Healthy Homes claim, which tells you how hard these are to win once they reach the Tribunal. What separated the successful cases is instructive.
In 43 per cent of the successful defences, the tenant simply had not provided enough evidence to establish their claim. That is not a strategy you can rely on. The evidence you control is worth far more. A current, independent Healthy Homes assessment showing compliance was decisive in 33 per cent of successful outcomes.
Beyond that, the successful cases commonly featured ordinary, boring, powerful documentation:
- Written communication with the tenant
- Photographs
- Contractor invoices
- Maintenance records
- Service documentation
- Evidence that work was actually completed
Communication records appeared in 13 of the 18 successful defences. And acting quickly after a concern was raised came up as a mitigating factor in 51 cases, influencing whether a finding was made against the landlord and how large any award was. Speed and paperwork, in other words, do a lot of the heavy lifting.
The arguments that offer landlords little protection
The research also highlighted several defences that landlords lean on and that tend not to work.
"I could not afford the work." Financial hardship failed as a defence in every case where it was raised. The cost of fixing a property does not remove the obligation to fix it.
"It was compliant when it was assessed." An old assessment may count for little if the property has changed since. Insulation may have been disturbed, systems may have deteriorated, new issues may have developed.
"The tenant caused it." This argument was rejected in 54 per cent of the cases where it was raised, and it was especially weak when the issue involved fixed parts of the property such as heating, insulation or extractor fans.
"We have fixed it now." Fixing a problem is good, but it does not necessarily remove liability for the period the property was non-compliant. Late action may reduce the consequences, but it does not erase the earlier breach.
"Our paperwork says we are compliant." This one can backfire badly. The research found landlords lost 78 per cent of cases involving an inaccurate or misleading compliance statement, compared with 54 per cent where no statement was provided at all. An inaccurate statement is worse than none. Records have to reflect the real condition of the property.
What this means for how you manage a rental
Pull the threads together and a clear picture of good practice emerges. Keep your Healthy Homes assessment current. When moisture or mould is reported, investigate the cause rather than painting over it. Reassess insulation after any work that could have disturbed it, and keep proof that remedial work was done properly. Respond quickly to every concern and keep a written trail. And make sure any compliance statement is accurate, because an optimistic one is a liability.
None of this is complicated. It is just relentless, and it has to continue for years. That is exactly the part owners find hard to sustain alongside everything else.
How a property manager keeps you on the right side of this
This is where having a manager earns its fee. At The Rent Shop, keeping a property compliant and defensible is part of the day job rather than an occasional scramble. In practice that means we review your current Healthy Homes assessment and arrange an independent reassessment where the property has changed; we investigate the cause of moisture and mould rather than relying on repeated temporary fixes; we check insulation properly, including after building or maintenance work, and keep evidence of anything remedial; we document everything, from tenant reports and correspondence to photographs, contractor instructions, invoices and completed repairs; and we keep the compliance statement accurate and current.
If a matter ever reaches the Tribunal, that documentation is the difference between the defences that work and the ones that do not. You can read more about a landlord's ongoing duties in our Healthy Homes landlord obligations guide.
It is also what our owners notice most. Christchurch investors Anisha and Reuben, whose property is managed by The Rent Shop, put it simply: “It’s reassuring to know that issues are handled promptly and that the property is being looked after as if it were their own.” You can read Anisha and Reuben’s full story on our blog.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Healthy Homes Standards? They are the minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping that private rentals in New Zealand must meet. Our full standards guide explains each one.
Is Healthy Homes compliance a one-off? No. Compliance must be maintained for the whole tenancy. A property that passed an assessment in the past can fall out of compliance as insulation shifts or systems age.
Can a tenant take a landlord to the Tribunal over Healthy Homes? Yes, and the research above shows most Healthy Homes cases are started by tenants. Compliance concerns can also be raised as a counterclaim inside a rent arrears case.
Does fixing the problem remove my liability? Not automatically. Acting quickly helps and may reduce any award, but it does not necessarily erase liability for the period the property was non-compliant.
What is the best protection against a Healthy Homes claim? Evidence you control: a current independent assessment, written communication, photographs, invoices and maintenance records, plus prompt action whenever a concern is raised.
For the official detail on your obligations, see Tenancy Services (tenancy.govt.nz).
If you would rather not carry this yourself, get in touch with The Rent Shop and we will make sure your property stays compliant and your records would stand up if they ever needed to.
