Most people who come to New Zealand from overseas complain that our houses are too cold. The government has been trying to change this by changing building laws. You will find that new houses here are much warmer because they have double glazing and insulation.
Double glazing is extra glass in the windows so that the house is quieter and warmer. Insulation is something in the walls, ceiling and floors of the house to stop the house from becoming cold.
At the beginning of this month, new laws about insulation of rental homes came into force. People in New Zealand have known about this new law since 2016, and there has been help from the government in getting houses insulated.
Nevertheless, some rental houses are still not insulated. There are reports that forty tenants have made official complaints about their landlords this month. If the landlords have not insulated their rental houses, they will have to pay a fine of at least $4,000.
The people who enforce this law are a branch of the Tenancy Tribunal called the Tenancy Compliance and Investigation Team.
The insulation laws demand that all rental houses have insulation in the ceilings and under the floors, unless it is impossible because of the building design. The further south the houses are, the more insulation is required.
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Lifeswap Episode 3 – The Winter Deniers from lifeswap on Vimeo.
This cartoon is in English with some German.
hey Melissa, nice tip(lifeswap), sounds fun, ill check it out, ive read werther from goethe(the video supporter) and its not very fun but ok, at least im reading, i hope youre great and wish you a nice day, kia ora