Does a NZ rental need a heat pump?

No. The Healthy Homes heating standard never mentions heat pumps. It requires fixed heating in the main living room capable of reaching a healthy temperature (the benchmark used is 18°C) on the coldest local days. A heat pump is one way to meet that; a fixed electric heater, a wood burner or a pellet burner can qualify too, provided the capacity is right for the room and the climate.

Why heat pumps end up being the answer anyway

For most living rooms, a correctly sized heat pump is the cheapest qualifying option to run, and tenants know it: heating that costs little to use actually gets used, which is what keeps a home dry as well as warm. That is why the market default and the legal requirement point the same way without being the same thing.

What does not count

• Portable plug-in heaters, regardless of their wattage.
• Open fires.
• Unflued gas heaters, which add moisture to the air you are trying to keep dry.
• A qualifying heater that is too small for the room's calculated requirement.

The one number that matters

Capacity. The required output depends on the room's size, glazing, insulation and the local climate zone, and the official heating assessment tool on tenancy.govt.nz calculates it for a specific address in a few minutes. Run it before buying anything, an undersized heat pump is a compliant type failing a measurable test. Keep the tool's result with the property's records; it is evidence in itself.