Landlords, are you in compliance with the new insulation laws yet?
16 May 2019
The July 2019 changes may affect you!
There isn’t much time left to get your rental house in compliance with the new insulation laws that take effect in July 2019. Remember, insulation is mandatory if you’re planning to rent your property after that date. If your current insulation doesn’t meet the new standard or you refuse to have the property insulated, you’ll be hit with a heavy fine that could be as high as $4000.
Insulation doesn’t need to be installed in every wall of the house. At a minimum, the property must have both ceiling insulation and underfloor insulation.
It’s impossible to insulate my home. How do I avoid the fine?
Fortunately, if your home is built in such a way that it’s impossible to add insulation in the underfloor and ceiling cavity—such as apartment buildings with living quarters both above and below the unit—you don’t have to have insulation in those areas. It must be reasonably practicable to have insulation installed, but you can’t simply claim that installing insulation is too difficult on your own. Several conditions must be met, including:
- It must be inspected by an experienced company who are professionals in installing insulation.
- The company must determine that they are unable to install insulation without doing substantial renovations or causing damage to the property.
- Or the company decides that installing insulation in the property will create a health and safety risk for the inhabitants.
How do I know if my insulation is good enough?
Simply having insulation isn’t enough. It must also meet certain minimum values as defined on the Insulation Regulations page. The entire South Island is considered a Zone 3 area and requires insulation with a minimum R-value of R 3.3 for the ceiling and R 1.3 for the underfloor.
Of course, someone unexperienced with insulation wouldn’t be able to determine the R-value of insulation by simply looking. There are a few things to look for that can help however, including:
- If you have access to the ceiling and underfloor, check to see if there is any insulation. If not, call us right away for a quote.
- If you’re able to see the insulation, check to see if there are any obvious holes or tears. These will need to be repaired as soon as possible.
- You could also check the council building file and see if insulation is noted in the file.
Book your insulation appointment right away!
As July 2019 is quickly approaching, slots are filling up fast. You don’t want to be forced to pay the fine because you waited too long to make an appointment! If you had your insulation done through us and lost your certificate or you’re unsure of your insulation status and need a professional insulation team to take a look, call us today or fill out our insulation compliance form now.
