What the ventilation standard asks of each fan
| Kitchen | Room with a shower or bath | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed since 1 July 2019 | At least 150 mm diameter (including ducting), or at least 50 litres per second | At least 120 mm diameter (including ducting), or at least 25 litres per second |
| Installed before that | Can stay if it vents outside and works properly | Can stay if it vents outside and works properly |
| Doesn't count | Recirculating fans that don't extract outdoors | Recirculating fans that don't extract outdoors |
Extractor fans: what the electrician does
Most fan jobs are one of three things: a fan where there wasn't one, a bigger fan to meet the size or flow rule, or a dead fan replaced. Tenancy Services says an older fan that stops working must be repaired or replaced with one that meets the standard.
The electrician fits the fan, runs or connects the duct to the outside, and wires it to a switch, a timer or the light circuit. Ask them to write down the fan's diameter, ducting and flow rate. Tenancy Services suggests landlords get those details from the installer, and the compliance statement needs the diameter or exhaust capacity of each fan used to comply.
Heating: fixed, with a thermostat, and big enough
The heating standard needs one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room, with enough capacity to heat it to 18°C and keep it there. Each heater used must be at least 1.5 kW, and a heat pump or electric heater used to meet the standard must have a thermostat. Open fires and portable LPG heaters don't count.
Size decides the type. If the living room needs more than 2.4 kW of heating, an electric heater other than a heat pump can't be used, apart from a small top-up to qualifying heating put in before 1 July 2019. Tenancy Services says most rentals meet the standard with a heat pump, wood burner, pellet burner or flued gas heater.
A fixed heater doesn't have to be hard-wired: a plug-in heater can count if it's secured to the property. Tenancy Services' heating assessment tool works out the capacity your living room needs.
Where an electrician fits into the heating
Tenancy Services says landlords must employ a licensed electrical worker for prescribed electrical work, and that new heating will usually need a licensed building practitioner, electrical worker or gas worker to install it. Its heating guide says heat pumps need a licensed electrician for installation.
For a heat pump, the electrician's part is the circuit and the connection, covered on heat pump wiring. For a fixed electric heater or underfloor heating, the electrician may do the whole job: see heated towel rails and underfloor heating.
The certificates for each job
The Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) says every piece of prescribed electrical work gets an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC). A new fan or heater on new or extended wiring is general work, so it comes with a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) as well.
If a new heating circuit means the switchboard has to be replaced with a higher-capacity one, that part is high-risk work. A licensed electrical inspector checks it and issues a Record of Inspection.
The records landlords have to keep
Landlords must keep the records that show how a rental complies, make them available on request, and give the information to tenants within 21 days. Every new or renewed tenancy agreement needs a signed healthy homes compliance statement.
For the electrical items, that statement needs the heater type and its capacity in kilowatts, and the diameter or exhaust capacity of each extractor fan. Ask the electrician for those figures and file them with the certificates.
Landlords who breach the healthy homes standards can face financial penalties of up to $7,200, so it's worth getting the paperwork right as well as the fans.
Who can do what in a rental
You can
- Landlords: check each fan vents outside and works, and book repairs promptly. Anything installed to meet the standards has to be kept in good working order.
- Tenants: clean accessible heat pump filters and keep the outdoor unit clear, and tell the landlord when something stops working.
- Owner-occupiers: the rental standards don't bind you, but the fan sizes are a sensible guide for your own bathroom and kitchen.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Installing or replacing extractor fans, and their wiring and switching.
- Fixed electric heaters, and the circuit and connection for a heat pump.
- Any switchboard work a new heating circuit needs.
- Electrical work of any kind in a rental, unless the landlord or tenant holds a current practising licence.
What to get in writing
- The diameter (including ducting) or exhaust capacity of each new fan.
- Confirmation that each fan extracts to the outdoors.
- The heater type, its heating capacity in kW, and that it has a thermostat.
- Certificates: the ESC, and the CoC wherever wiring is new or extended.
- Their name and registration number, for a quick search of the public register.
If it were our rental
We'd run the heating assessment tool first, so we knew the capacity the living room needs, then get one electrician to quote the fans and the heating circuit in a single visit. And we'd ask for every figure the compliance statement needs to be written on the invoice or certificate, so the paperwork is finished when the work is.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.