How long is a Healthy Homes certificate or compliance statement valid?

There is no expiry date in law for either. A compliance statement is the landlord's declaration that its contents are true and correct as at the date of signing, so it holds good only while the house still matches it, and a statement reflecting the current state goes into every new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement. An assessor's report or "certificate" has no legal lifespan at all. It records what one person saw on one day. If it says "valid for 12 months", that is the company's own term, not a rule from Tenancy Services.

So the useful question is not "has it expired?" but "is it still true?" The answer depends on what has happened to the house since.

What the law does set

• A compliance statement must be included in new, renewed and varied tenancy agreements, describing the property's current level of compliance.
• Landlords must meet the standards and keep meeting them. Anything installed or provided to meet a standard must be kept in good working order, and replaced if it cannot be, within a reasonable timeframe.
• Existing insulation must be in reasonable condition, which Tenancy Services describes as no mould, dampness, damage or gaps.
• Landlords must keep records showing how they comply, including records of work done to stay up to standard.

Put together, those rules mean the duty is continuous. A statement or report is a snapshot of an obligation that never pauses.

What makes a statement or report out of date

Anything that changes a fact the statement records. The common ones:

• The heater changed. A heat pump was replaced with a different model, failed, or was removed. The statement names the heater's type and kilowatt output.
• The living room changed. The official heating calculation uses the room's size, windows, insulation and layout, so knocking through a wall, adding a big window or merging rooms can change the capacity required.
• Insulation was disturbed. Rewiring, plumbing, a roof leak or rodents can leave gaps, damp patches or compressed sections, which is exactly what "reasonable condition" rules out.
• An extractor fan died or its ducting came loose, so it no longer vents outside.
• Gutters, downpipes or drains were damaged or blocked, or a tradesperson tore the ground moisture barrier.
• New draughts appeared, or a blocked fireplace was opened up.
• An exemption ended. The general exemptions for demolition or rebuilding, and for a tenant who is the former owner, last for up to 12 months.

Notice that the official template asks for the date insulation was last inspected. A statement that says "last inspected 2021" is technically complete and practically weak.

When to re-check

1. Before signing every new, renewed or varied tenancy agreement. Walk the five standards, then write the statement.
2. After any work that touches a standard: renovations, reroofing, rewiring, a new heater, replacement windows.
3. At routine inspections. Tenancy Services suggests checking that the heater and ventilation work, the insulation is still in good condition, the drainage is doing its job, the moisture barrier is intact, and asking tenants about new draughts.
4. After a leak, storm or pest problem that could have reached the ceiling space or subfloor.

None of these needs a paid visit every time. Most are a torch, a phone camera and half an hour, and you can use Landy's free self-assessment to work through the standards in order. There is more on this in free ways to assess a rental.

What an older report is still good for

An assessment from a few years ago is not worthless. It can still show what was installed and when: the R-value of insulation when it went in, the rated output of a heat pump, the date a barrier was laid. Those facts do not go stale. What goes stale is the claim that everything is still in that condition today.

The practical fix is to pair the old report with fresh, dated evidence: a new photo of the ceiling space with a tape measure, a photo of the fan running with its outside flap open, a note that the heater was serviced. Filed together, they tell the whole story. Landy's timeline dates each photo and document as it is added, which does this job without extra effort.

If an assessor's report says it has expired

Some businesses put a validity period on their reports, often tied to offering a re-inspection. That is their commercial choice. It does not make the report legally invalid on the day after, and it does not keep it legally valid until then either. What matters is whether the facts in it are still true. The difference between a certificate and a statement is covered in certificate vs compliance statement.