By now, APIA landlords should be well aware of the 1947 Housing Improvement Regulations (HIR) and how it relates to s45 of the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Tribunal, historically, has certainly not shied away from enforcing elements of the HIR especially as it relates to dampness. Increasingly, however,
we are seeing it being relied on in decisions pertaining to deficient heating. For the time being, the HIR appears to be the standard-bearer of heat
provision in residential tenancies. Whether this is a foreshadowing of the eventual HHGA is yet to be known. At the very least, it is undoubtedly a reflection of the current political climate
one such compliance issue landlords could do well to pay attention to if Tait and Hanara v Property Brokers Ltd [2018] NZTT Whanganui 4136750 is anything to
go by.

In Tait, the tenants allege, amongst other things, a lack of heating and seek compensation on that basis. At some point in time, the original
heater supplied by the landlord became defective and eventually disconnected with no alternative source of heating provided by the landlord. Despite
requests to remedy, the landlord had been “unresponsive”.

The adjudicator bases the decision generally on s45(1)(c) of the RTA requiring the landlord to “comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health, and safety under any enactment so far as they apply to the premises”
and specifically on clause 6 of the HIR mandating “[e]very living room [to] be fitted with a fireplace and chimney or other approved form of heating.”
Any chattel supplied at the start of the tenancy...