Tag Archive for: Health & Safety

Residential Tenancies Amendments Act 2020

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If you own a residential rental property you should be aware of the significant changes enacted last year, but here is a summary of the major changes and dates.

NOTE: – These are different to the Healthy Homes requirements that are covered under different legislation

Landlords and tenants need to understand the recent changes to tenancy law and how this will affect them.

All landlords, including boarding house landlords, must comply with various legal obligations as governed by the Residential Tenancies Act (the Act). Starting from August 2020, parts of the Act are being changed by the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill.

The changes are taking effect at three key dates:

Phase 1: 12 August 2020

Phase 2: 11 February 2021

Phase 3: By 11 August 2021

Phase 1: Law changes take effect 12 August 2020

Transitional and emergency housing exempt from the Act

From 12 August 2020, transitional and emergency housing will be exempt from the Residential Tenancies Act where the housing is:

  • funded (wholly or partly) by a government department, or
  • provided under the Special Needs Grants

This exemption is applicable for all people (new and existing clients) in transitional and emergency housing that meets the criteria above.

Providers of transitional and emergency housing will still be able to opt into parts of the RTA if they wish, by agreeing in writing with the client which parts will apply.

Rent can only be increased every 12 months

From 12 August 2020, rent increases are limited to once every 12 months. This is a change from once every 180 days (six months). Any rent increase notices given to tenants from 12 August 2020 must comply with the new 12-month rule. If a notice was given before 12 August 2020, it is still within the 180-day rule.

Phase 2: Law changes take effect 11 February 2021

Changes to multiple parts of tenancy law

From 11 February 2021, multiple changes to tenancy legislation will take effect. More details will be available closer to the time. The changes will cover:

Security of rental tenure

Landlords will not be able to end a periodic tenancy without cause by providing 90 days’ notice. New termination grounds will be available to landlords under a periodic tenancy and the required notice periods will change.

Changes for fixed-term tenancies

All fixed-term tenancy agreements will convert to periodic tenancies at the end of the fixed term unless the parties agree otherwise, the tenant gives a 28-day notice, or the landlord gives notice in accordance with the termination grounds for periodic tenancies.

Making minor changes

Tenants can ask to make changes to the property

and landlords must not decline if the change is minor. Landlords must respond to a tenant’s request to make a change within 21 days.

Prohibitions on rental bidding

Rental properties cannot be advertised without a rental price listed, and landlords cannot invite or encourage tenants to bid on the rental (pay more than the advertised rent amount).

Fibre broadband

Tenants can request to install fibre broadband, and landlords must agree if it can be installed at no cost to them, unless specific exemptions apply.

Privacy and access to justice

A suppression order can remove names and identifying details from published Tenancy Tribunal decisions if a party who has applied for a suppression order is wholly or substantially successful, or if this is in the interests of the parties and the public interest.

Assignment of tenancies

All requests to assign a tenancy must be considered. Landlords cannot decline unreasonably. If a residential tenancy agreement prohibits assignment, it is of no effect.

Landlord records

Not providing a tenancy agreement in writing will be an unlawful act and landlords will need to retain and provide new types of information.

Enforcement measures being strengthened The Regulator (the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) will have new measures to take action against parties who are not meeting their obligations.

Changes to Tenancy Tribunal jurisdiction

The Tenancy Tribunal can hear cases and make awards up to $100,000. This is a change from $50,000.

Phase 3: Law changes take effect by 11 August 2021

Tenancies can be terminated if family violence or landlord assault has occurred

The below provisions must come into effect by 11 August 2021, but may come in earlier if the Government agrees (using an Order in Council):

Family violence: tenants experiencing family violence will be able to terminate a tenancy without financial penalty.

Physical assault: a landlord will be able to issue a 14-day notice to terminate the tenancy if the tenant has assaulted the landlord, the owner, a member of their family, or the landlord’s agent, and the Police have laid a charge against the tenant in respect of the assault.

More information

Reform of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Development) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (New Zealand Legislation website)

Tenancy.govt.nz (MBIE/Tenancy Services have developed a factsheet that summarises the changes) Source: tenancy.govt.nz/law-changes

Health & Safety

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From the 1st April stringent new rules come into force with regards Health & Safety in the Workplace. This is something that affects every business, even our office based business, so you need to make sure you understand the new legislation and  take steps to ensure your workplace is a safe environment for you and your staff.

Go to Work Safe information page here to find out just what is a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) who can be held personally responsible for a workplace accident – you NEED to know.

Health and Safety Reform Bill

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Worksafe NZ

As you may have seen in the Media coverage the Health and Safety Reform Bill has been reported back to Parliament which has made some improvements and clarifications. The Health and Safety Reform Bill will replace the old Health and Safety Act and is part of a number of changes aimed at reducing New Zealand’s injury and death toll in the workplace which is far too high. The bill is likely to become law later this year.

While the changes are primarily driven by the need to reform high-accident-rate industries such as forestry,  mining and farms the Bill will effect every business, including small office and retail businesses so you need to assess your business for potential accident-causing behaviour in your workplace. For example how many people stand on a chair to change a light bulb rather than using a set of steps?

Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility – get it wrong and the penalties are significant.

Duty Holders

A Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) have health and safety duties toward their employees and to any other person affected by the work of the business or undertaking.  Duty holders’ obligations are limited to doing what’s in their ability to control and manage and is reasonably practicable. This makes job descriptions very important as a way to establish exactly what is in the duty holder’s ability to control and manage.

Directors, board members or partners, will now (as an officer of a PCBU) have a new duty to ensure that the PCBU complies with its duties. The bill expressly excludes those merely advising or making recommendations to an officer.

However, the responsibility sits with the PCBU, not all duty holders.

The duty holders are now personally liable and can faces fines up to several hundreds of thousands and even prison terms. This cannot be insured against.

In a shared workplace there may be more than one PCBU, the PCBUs are then required to consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other. The bill also clarifies how to do this.

A PCBU does not have a duty towards people who are at the workplace for an unlawful purpose.

Worker participation

The responsibilities of a PCBU have been clarified in the new Bill, under which a PCBU need to engage with the workers on health and safety matters.

Some flexibility has been added to ‘worker participation’ in health and safety matters in the workplace. Health and Safety Representatives and Committees are one way of meeting the worker participation requirement. Smaller workplaces with less than 20 workers in low risk sectors will not be required to have a Health and Safety Representative or Committee when requested by workers. All other businesses need to decide whether to elect a Representative and Committee when requested. If they are satisfied current worker participation practices meet the requirement of the new law they can decline the requirements.

Health and Safety Representatives will have the power to intervene if they see an unsafe situation with serious risk. There are limitations to and training requirements attached to their power.

Definition of a Workplace

The Bill defines a workplace as a place where ‘work is carried out, including anywhere a worker goes or is likely to be while at work’.

Some areas might not be workplaces all of the time. Farmers especially had some concern regarding allowing public to enter their land, but it has now been clarified that a workplace is somewhere where work is customarily carried out, including any place a worker goes or is likely to be while at work. So, farm buildings and immediate surrounds are under the duty of the farmer as a PCBU, other parts of the farm (like paddocks) are only workplaces while work is being carried out in that part. So, the farmer does not have a duty towards recreational users coming onto farm land unless work is carried out in that part of the farm at the time. The farm family home is also excluded from the farm workplace.

Volunteers

The bill will continue to distinguish between casual volunteers and volunteer workers, where casuals health and safety will be covered but the PCBU’s duty to any other person affected by the work of the business or undertaking but not to the extent of employees. Volunteer workers will have the same protection as any other worker.  If it’s purely a volunteer organisation with no employees it is not a PCBU so the Bill won’t apply. If the organisation has employees it’s a PCBU and the Bill applies.

The following would be classed as casual volunteering not volunteer workers: participation in fundraising activity, assistance with sports or recreations for an educational institute or club, assisting with activities for an educational institution outside the premises of the educational institution, providing care for another person in the volunteer’s home.

For further information, visit:

Worksafe New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment