To accommodate delays arising from the COVID restrictions, the deadline for landlords to provide healthy homes standards compliance statements to their new tenants has been extended by five months.

The healthy homes standards have been introduced to ensure that all rental properties have, for example, adequate heating, insulation and ventilation. As part of the first stages of these standards, you must provide any new tenants or tenants renewing their existing agreement with information on whether your property meets the healthy homes standards. This is called a healthy homes standards compliance statement.

Originally, the healthy homes standards compliance statement was to be mandatory from 1 July 2020. However, the COVID restrictions have meant that some landlords have been unable to inspect their properties and gather the necessary information for their healthy homes standards compliance statements. To assist landlords in this position, the mandatory start date has been extended to 1 December 2020.

The deadlines for the later stages of the healthy homes standards remain unchanged and you will still need to meet the following deadlines for ensuring your property complies with the healthy home standards:

• From 1 July 2021, you must ensure that your rental properties comply with the healthy homes standards within 90 days of any new tenancy, and
• From 1 July 2024, all of your rental properties must comply with the healthy home standards, regardless of whether your tenants are new or existing.

The template for a healthy homes compliance statement is available here and further information on the healthy homes standards is available here.

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