Brooklyn's houses and weather
Villas and 1930s state houses
Fitchett Town became Brooklyn in 1888 when its main subdivision went on sale. Simple villas date from around 1895, state housing came between 1930 and 1940, and very few of the oldest cottages remain.
Lots of young renters
Brooklyn had 6,669 people in 2,568 dwellings at the 2023 Census, with a median age of 34.7. Across Wellington City, 41.37% of households didn't own their home or hold it in a family trust.
High, exposed and snowy at times
Snow settled on Brooklyn in the October 2003 storm. The June 2013 storm cut power to about 30,000 properties across the region, and Wellington Electricity's emergency line for damaged lines is 0800 248 148.
A wind turbine on the hill
The Brooklyn wind turbine on Polhill, first installed in March 1993, has a capacity of 900 kW, and its power feeds the local lines.
Owners: what an old Brooklyn villa usually needs
Villas and 1930s houses often still have rewireable fuses, the ceramic holders with fuse wire inside, and some may have old rubber-insulated cable. Neither protects people the way an RCD does. An electrician can test the insulation, then tell you whether the board, the wiring or both should go.
A rewire is general work, so you get a Certificate of Compliance and an Electrical Safety Certificate. A higher-capacity board is high-risk work and also gets an independent inspection. Lath-and-plaster walls and tight ceiling spaces make rewiring a villa slower, so ask how the cable will be run.
Landlords: the healthy homes basics
Every rental needs a fixed heater able to heat the main living room to 18°C, with a thermostat if it's a heat pump or electric heater. Kitchen fans fitted since 1 July 2019 must be at least 150 mm in diameter or extract 50 litres a second; bathroom fans 120 mm or 25 litres a second, and both must vent outside.
Smoke alarms go in every bedroom or within 3 metres of each bedroom door, and on every level. Landlords and tenants can't do any of the electrical work themselves without a practising licence.
Where we'd start in Brooklyn
In an owner-occupied villa, we'd start with an insulation test on the old circuits, because the result shows if it's a board job or a full rewire. For a rental, we'd do the heater, fans and alarms in one visit and keep the paperwork for the tenancy agreement.
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.