REINZ warns property managers only have 2 days

REINZ warns property managers only have 2 days to decide to work with non-compliant landlords

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) is reminding property management that they only have two days left to decide whether they still want to work with landlords who haven’t met the insulation standards.

On Monday morning, any landlord that has not insulated their property to the standards set out by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will be breaching the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and may be liable for a penalty of up to $4,000. Any landlords who still don’t comply after paying the penalty, may face further action according to MBIE.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “Property managers that have clients who haven’t insulated their rental property need to make some tough decisions as to whether they are going to continue working these landlords anymore as there are substantial fines for non-compliance, for property managers as well as landlords, not to mention the potential brand and reputational damage.

“Whilst we know that some delays have been out of landlords hands, such as delays in insulation products being available for installation or not being able to book an installer in time, ultimately, our advice is that property managers don’t continue to work with any client that has no intention of meeting the standards,” continues Norwell.

“MBIE and the industry has been warning landlords for three years that they need to meet the insulation requirements and ensure their property is up to the required R rating for their part of the country,” concludes Norwell.

REINZ has been communicating the required changes with its members for some time now to ensure that they had enough time to meet the insulation requirements.

Rough estimates are that some 80-90% of landlords will have met the insulation standards by Monday’s deadline.

ENDS

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