Is a Healthy Homes certificate the same as a compliance statement?

No. A "Healthy Homes certificate" is a document an assessor or company produces after inspecting a property: a report, sometimes with a certificate page on top, recording what they found. It is not issued by Tenancy Services or any other government body, and the tenancy rules do not require a landlord to hold one. What the law does require is a Healthy Homes compliance statement: a statement made and signed by the landlord, included in every new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement, setting out how the property meets each of the five standards.

The two often get confused because one feeds the other. A good assessor's report is useful evidence for filling in the statement. But the report is the assessor's opinion, and the statement is the landlord's declaration. Only the second is a legal requirement.

What the law actually requires

Tenancy Services publishes a compliance statement template, and it is also built into the standard tenancy agreement templates. Landlords can either complete that form or attach their own signed statement containing the same information. It asks for specifics, not a pass mark:

• Heating: the required heating capacity for the main living room, and the type and kilowatt output of the heater or heaters that meet it.
• Insulation: where it is, its R-value or thickness, type, when it was installed and last inspected, and confirmation it is in reasonable condition.
• Ventilation: openable windows and doors in the rooms that need them, and the extractor fans or qualifying system in kitchens and bathrooms.
• Moisture and drainage: whether drainage is efficient, and whether an enclosed subfloor has a ground moisture barrier.
• Draught stopping: the status of any open fireplaces, and whether the house is free of unreasonable gaps.
• Any exemption relied on, with a brief description of the circumstances.

The template ends with the landlord declaring the information is true and correct as at the date of signing. Tenancy Services says leaving the statement out when it is required can bring a penalty of up to $500 per tenancy. Separately, since 1 July 2019 agreements have also needed a short statement that the landlord complies, or will comply, with the standards. The template notes the two are separately signed.

Who signs what

The assessor signs their own report, if they sign anything. The compliance statement must be made and signed by the landlord, or by an agent acting as the landlord such as a property manager. Tenancy Services is explicit that a landlord can use a professional's assessment to complete the statement, but the landlord signs it, not the professional.

That matters more than it sounds. Responsibility for meeting the standards, and for keeping them met, stays with the landlord whatever a certificate says. If the report was wrong, the statement you signed is still yours. So read the report as evidence to check, not a verdict to copy.

What the tenant must receive

The landlord must give the tenant a copy of the signed tenancy agreement before the tenancy starts, and the compliance statement is part of that agreement. There is no rule that the tenant must be handed an assessor's report or certificate.

Tenants can, however, ask for information about how the property complies, and the landlord must provide it within 21 days of the request. Landlords must also keep records showing how they comply and supply them on request, for example to the Tenancy Tribunal. If an assessor's report is part of how you show compliance, it belongs in those records.

Where a certificate genuinely helps

Tenancy Services lists a professional evaluation as one of the records that can show compliance, alongside invoices, photos, heating tool printouts and product manuals. A report earns its place when you could not safely check something yourself, such as a tight subfloor, or when you want independent eyes before signing.

Check it gives you what the statement needs. A tick beside "heating: compliant" does not tell you the required kilowatts or the heater's rated output, and the statement asks for both. If the numbers are missing, ask for them before you pay the final invoice.

Common mix-ups

• Attaching the assessor's certificate instead of a statement. The law asks for the landlord's signed statement with the required details. A report on its own is not that.
• Treating a certificate as permanent. It describes one visit on one day. See how long a certificate or statement stays valid.
• Assuming the assessor had to be licensed. There is no licence or register for Healthy Homes assessors. See who can do an assessment.

If you have the facts to hand, the statement itself is not hard to complete. Landy's free compliance statement builder walks through each standard and produces a statement for you to check and sign.