From 1 July 2016, all new residential tenancy agreements are required to include a signed insulation statement detailing the extent of insulation in the
property. At the time of passage, this requirement was seen by many as a bureaucratic intermediary in anticipation of universal insulation by
2019. But if its recent orders are anything to go by, it is apparent that the Tribunal has every intention to audit this particular obligation
under the strictest of interpretation.
Insulation statement at a glance
Amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act in 2016 (commonly referred to as that for ‘minimum standards’) obligate the landlord, amongst other things,
to disclose the extent to which the rental property has been insulated in the form of a signed statement.
This statement has to be a part of any new tenancy agreement. The landlord commits an unlawful act under the RTA if said statement is absent,
defective, or contains false or misleading information. An exemplary damage of up to $500 is awardable in
the case of a breach.
The anatomy of an insulation statement
At a minimum, the insulation statement must include:
- Whether or not there is insulation;
- If there is insulation, where it is – the extent and location in ceilings, floors or walls and in rooms or parts of rooms;
- What type of insulation product is installed, and its level of thermal resistance (R-value) if known;
- What condition the insulation is in including information such as whether there is damage to or dampness detected on the material as well as whether
any is not secured to the property; - The landlord’s signature (that is separate from the signature on the agreement).
