Good afternoon Aaron,

 

Apologies for the delay in response and not getting back to you within the
prescribed timeframe.

 

In response to your queries in the below email – I write to advise that we
are currently unaware of the requirements specified within your below
email and do not have any processes in place to carry out these functions
within our Department.

 

Nuisance complaints under the Health Act 1956 relating to odour, mould
etc. are currently investigated by our team and has been in the past –
unfortunately recording within the system in the past hasn’t been ideal
and there is no specific separation between rental and owned properties so
it is unclear how many times rental housing properties have been inspected
within the past five years. The work involved in manually searching the
system and determining whether these are rental properties and whether
relevant to the Housing Improvement Regulations 1947 would take a
considerable amount of time for which we would have to charge.

 

Kind regards,

Lavinia

 

From: Aaron Packard <[1][FOI #13674 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 5 September 2020 2:50 PM
To: INFO <[2][email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - How is the Council using its
rights under the Public Health Act to inspect rental housing properties?

 

Dear South Waikato District Council,

Last month, the Wellington City Council tabled a report* looking into the
powers that the council has to inspect and report on unsanitary or
unhealthy housing. The report showed that the Council has significantly
stronger powers to enforce healthy and sanitary housing that it had been
aware of or was practising. These powers are applicable to all local,
unitary and district councils. You can read the legislative basis for
these powers in the appendix below.
Renters United is a national organisation of renters campaigning to
improve conditions for all renters in Aotearoa. We are concerned that many
councils around the country are not adequately using their powers to
ensure housing is healthy and sanitary, particularly private rental
housing.
We write to request the following information under the Local Government
Information and Meetings Act 1987:
1. In the past five years, how many times has the Council used their
rights under the Public Health Act to inspect rental housing properties?
Unknown – this could be manually reviewed but would take some time
2. In the past five years, how many times has the Council exercised its
powers to issue a repair or closure notice to landlords whose properties
do not meet the Housing Improvement Regulations? Unknown
3. How do you identify which rental housing properties to inspect under
the Public Health Act? No process in place for this – or we act when
something is brought to our attention
4. What is the process for tenants to request the Council inspect their
rental housing property under the Public Health Act and provide a written
report on its condition? No process in place for this – however we
investigate all complaints that we receive
5. What information is available on your website or in your publications
on rental housing inspections provided by the Council?  None at this time
 
6. What is your process for engaging with the Tenancy Tribunal to provide
reports on the rental housing inspections you conduct? No process in place
at this time
We look forward to hearing from you as soon as reasonably practicable.
Thank you.

Aaron Packard
Renters United Organiser
027 3519994

Appendix:

The legislative basis
The Housing Improvement Regulations 1947, originally made under the
Housing Improvement Act 1945, are now in force under the Health Act 1956
(s120c). These regulations require that, for example, housing is free from
dampness, fitted with an approved form of heating, provided with
sufficient windows, provided with a toilet, and that rooms are of a
minimum size. Many of these regulations are encompassed in more recent
legislation, including under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and the
Residential Tenancies Act (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019.
Under the Health Act 1956, local bodies are directed and empowered to
enforce the regulations in their district (s23d). If housing does not
comply with the Housing Improvement Regulations, local bodies can issue a
repair notice or a closure notice**. The council’s public health team
should inspect properties upon request and provide a written report for
tenants or the Tenancy Tribunal on their observations of the state of the
property.

*Wellington City Council, ‘Safety of Housing in Wellington’, in Ordinary
Meeting of Strategy and Policy Committee, 2020, pp. 245–52 (p. 251)
<[3]https://wellington.govt.nz/~/media/your-...>.
**Barry Barton, ‘A Warm and Dry Place to Live: Energy Efficiency and
Rental Accommodation’, Canterbury Law Review, 19 (2013), 1–25 (pp. 10–13).

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