Date: 28th Sep 2026
Owning a rental property involves a whole lot more than collecting rent and calling a plumber when there’s a leak. If you’re a landlord, it’s important to know that you have legal duties to keep your property safe for tenants, contractors, and anyone else who sets foot on site.
These obligations come from the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), the Healthy Homes Standards, and the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Let’s walk through what this actually means for you as a landlord, the checks you need to be doing, and where to turn if you need a hand keeping on top of it all.
PCBU stands for “person conducting a business or undertaking”. As a residential or commercial landlord, you are a PCBU in relation to your rental property. Your duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act are particularly relevant when work is being carried out, such as when you engage a tradesperson to complete repairs or maintenance.
The usual PCBU duties apply for the duration of that work, and you can't contract out of them. Handing responsibility to a tenant, contractor, or property manager doesn't end your legal obligations. The obligation stays with you, regardless of who else is on site.
Tenants also have practical responsibilities. These include telling you about needed repairs, following reasonable safety instructions while work is underway, and taking reasonable care around areas affected by maintenance.
Where the Health and Safety at Work Act applies, it places a primary duty of care on PCBUs to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of anyone affected by the work being carried out. As a landlord, you owe this to tenants, contractors, and anyone else who might be affected.
In practice, that means keeping the property and any equipment on it in a safe condition, and reviewing your procedures regularly to make sure they're still working. It also means giving people on site enough information to stay safe. A contractor working near a broken step needs to know it's there, and a tenant needs to know when work is happening and which areas to avoid.
"Reasonably practicable" is deliberately flexible, and it's frequently examined if a matter reaches WorkSafe or the courts. It weighs up how likely the risk or hazard is to occur, how severe the harm would be if it did, what you knew or reasonably should have known about it, and what steps you actually took to eliminate or minimise it.
That standard means identifying hazards on your property, working out how serious they are, and either eliminating them or reducing the risk. This could look like checking a contractor is properly qualified before they start, keeping tenants informed during renovations, or staying on top of routine maintenance so small problems don't grow into bigger ones.
Alongside your broader obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act, you must comply with the Healthy Homes Standards, which set minimum requirements across five areas:
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, you’re also required to keep the building structurally sound and the property in a reasonable state of repair. This includes making sure fixtures, fittings, and fire safety measures like smoke alarms are in working order.
Compliance deadlines shifted a few times after the Standards were introduced, but the final compliance deadline has now passed. All private rentals must comply with the Healthy Homes Standards, regardless of when the tenancy started, unless a specific exemption applies.
Meeting these obligations comes down to regular, proactive checks. That means confirming the standards above are being met, alongside a few other essentials landlords should keep an eye on:
A routine inspection schedule, typically every three to six months, helps catch issues early rather than discovering them only after a tenant reports them. Restricted work, including prescribed electrical work and gasfitting, must be completed by appropriately authorised tradespeople. Work involving asbestos also needs to be properly assessed and may require a licensed asbestos specialist.
Keep records of inspections, maintenance, and compliance statements. If a dispute arises, this evidence is what shows you've met your obligations.
Commercial landlords are in a slightly different position. The Healthy Homes Standards don't apply to commercial premises, but the Health and Safety at Work Act still does. You remain a PCBU in relation to any work carried out on your property.
Commercial settings often involve more overlapping responsibilities, since tenants and contractors are usually running their own separate businesses on site, and health and safety duties are shared rather than resting on you alone.
Where more than one PCBU is involved, such as you, your tenant's business, and any contractors, everyone needs to communicate, cooperate, and coordinate. This might mean agreeing in advance who manages particular hazards, or making sure everyone on site knows about work that could affect them.
Non-compliance carries real consequences, and penalties under the Health and Safety at Work Act depend on the nature and seriousness of the breach.
Simply failing to meet a duty can mean a fine; reckless conduct that puts someone at serious risk of injury, illness, or death can mean a fine and imprisonment for individuals, with substantially higher fines for companies.
If a tenant has concerns about your property's condition, such as mould, dampness, or similar, their local council's environmental health team is usually the right channel. Tenancy Services and the Tenancy Tribunal handle tenancy-specific disputes like repairs or Healthy Homes compliance, while WorkSafe steps in where the concern relates to a health and safety duty under the HSWA.
In most cases, clear communication and prompt repairs resolve things well before formal escalation is needed.
Concerns about serious property conditions, such as persistent dampness, mould, or other potential health hazards, may be raised with your local council’s environmental health team. For disputes about repairs, maintenance, or Healthy Homes compliance, tenants can contact Tenancy Services and may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal.
Every private rental in New Zealand must now fully comply, regardless of when the tenancy began. The earlier transitional timeframes have passed.
Landlords must ensure compliant smoke alarms are installed, working at the start of each tenancy, and kept in working order. Tenants must not damage, remove, or disconnect them and may be responsible for replacing batteries in older alarms.
Yes. Ceiling and underfloor insulation has generally been compulsory in rental properties since 1 July 2019, although exemptions may apply to some properties.
Landlords are responsible for maintaining the property in a reasonable state of repair and complying with the Healthy Homes Standards, which help reduce conditions that contribute to mould and dampness. Tenants also have responsibilities to keep the property reasonably clean and well ventilated.
Landlords need to give correct notice under the Residential Tenancies Act before entering for an inspection. With proper notice, tenants are generally expected to allow reasonable access. If you're unsure about a specific situation, Tenancy Services has the full rules on entry and notice periods.
There’s no fixed legal inspection frequency, but inspections every three to six months are common. Check your insurance policy as well, as it may require inspections at specified intervals.
Staying on top of legislation, Standards, and inspection schedules is a lot to juggle alongside everything else that comes with owning a rental. Tremains' residential property management service takes the administrative load off you while helping to keep your property compliant.
This includes scheduled inspections, coordination of maintenance and repair work with trusted, licensed tradespeople, and ongoing tracking of your Healthy Homes compliance.
Contact us to learn how our property managers can support you and your property, or get started with a free rental appraisal.
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