Hi Aaron

 

As per your Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request
dated 15 September, please find the answers to your questions below.

 

If you have any concerns in relation to this response then you are able to
raise these with the Ombudsman in accordance with Section 27 (3) of the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

 

Louise

 

 

Louise Pagan
Communications Manager
Southland District
Council
[1][IMG] PO Box 903
Invercargill  9840
P: 0800 732 732  |  F:
0800 732 329
www.southlanddc.govt.nz

-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Packard [
Sent: Tuesday, 15 September 2020 5:46 p.m.
To: General
Subject: Official Information request - Southland District Council

Dear Southland 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? 0
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? 0
3. How do you identify which rental housing properties to inspect under
the Public Health Act? Complaints received would be considered case by
case. Generally complaints for rentals would be referred to the [2]Tenancy
Compliance and Investigations team
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? They lodge a request for service with Council.
5. What information is available on your website or in your publications
on rental housing inspections provided by the Council? Nil.
6. What is your process for engaging with the Tenancy Tribunal to provide
reports on the rental housing inspections you conduct? Council will
cooperate fully with the Tenancy Tribunal.
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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