24th October 2017
Please find attached the updated Vicarage Handbook. This sets out Diocesan and legal requirements and guidelines for Vicarages, including the letting out of properties under a Residential Tenancy.
Vicarage-Handbook-2017.pdf
Requirements for landlords continue to evolve. With the formation of a new government, Labour have signalled that the passing of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill [No. 2] will be part of their first 100 days legislative programme.
This bill instructs the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment [MBIE], within six months of the Bill’s Royal Ascent, to set minimum standards for heating and insulation in rental properties.
The Bill, as it currently reads, requires the proposed standards to address –
- Methods of heating; and
- Methods of insulation; and
- Indoor temperatures; and
- Ventilation; and
- Draught stopping; and
- Drainage
Any new Residential Tenancy Agreement entered into from seven days after the MBIE standards are published, must conform to the new standards. It is expected that the natural process of tenant turnover will see most tenancy agreements containing the requirements within 5 years. At that point, all residential tenancies must meet the standards.
We will keep you updated with regard to the progress of the bill and the development of the standards by MBIE. The proposed standards will impose additional compliance requirements on parishes. CPT will be providing further information to you on these once the substance of them is known.
Regards
Gavin Holley
General Manager