How HomeFit works - Christchurch W.O.F

The online check.. This will give you an idea of how well your home - or the home you're thinking of buying or renting - is performing.

Once you answer a couple of introductory questions, you’ll end up on this dashboard:

Here you’ll be asked to answer 20 or so questions spread over 3 sections: dry, warm and safe & efficient. It should take you less than half an hour to complete, including some time to check under the home and in the roof space. If you know your home well, it should take you less than 10 minutes.
If you're unsure what a question means click on the information "i" to the right of the question. This will bring up helpful information on what to look for.
The online check won't give you a HomeFit certificate - for this you'll need to get a qualified HomeFit assessor to visit the property.

Getting your home HomeFit certifiedOnce you've made the improvements suggested by the online check go to “Get HomeFit certified”. This will bring up a range of local qualified HomeFit assessors who can visit your home to do the inspection and, if your home is up to the standard, give you the HomeFit certificate. You can email the assessors directly from this website.

HomeFit PLUSHomeFit has a higher standard called HomeFit PLUS. This requires homes to have:

• more insulation (including wall insulation)
• more energy efficient lights
• more energy efficient heating
• better ventilation systems

Having a HomeFit PLUS stamp for your home will differentiate it from the rest of the market. Your HomeFit assessor will be able to tell you if it meets the standard.

Marketing a home as HomeFitIf your home is certified as HomeFit or HomeFit PLUS it will be recorded on some property websites with the HomeFit tick alongside other information such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. This means that anyone looking to buy or rent your home can have some peace of mind that it’ll be warmer, drier and safer. If for any reason you don’t want people to know your home meets the standard then please email [email protected].

The HomeFit online check reportWhile you’re completing the online check you can click at any time on the “Get your self-assessment checklist”. This will bring up a short report summarising where your home is doing well and where it could do with some improvements. You can print this out at any time and/or send this as a link in an email for example.

Installer DirectoryThe HomeFit self-assessment report includes a list of local installers and suppliers who can come to your home and sort out any outstanding issues. Many of these installers are also trained HomeFit assessors who will be able to complete the HomeFit assessment once they’ve finished any remedial work.

The report lets you email the installers and ask them to quote for the work. We recommend getting a number of quotes to make sure you’re getting value for money.
I want to use HomeFit to self-check multiple propertiesThat’s fine. Just register to use the HomeFit website and you can save multiple properties and retrieve these whenever you log in. They are visible under the "Account" button at the top of the screen. This could be useful if you are looking at multiple properties to buy or rent, or you hold a portfolio of properties. Remember though that you’ll need to get a formal assessment from a qualified assessor to be able to get a home certified as HomeFit.
What about the RTA Amendment regulations for rental properties?The qualified HomeFit assessor will also check whether your home meets the insulation and smoke alarm requirements of the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016 (RTA). Even if you’re not thinking about renting this home it’s useful to know if it would meet the standard. It’s also useful to know that the fire alarms are working and are in the right place.

…and the Healthy Home Guarantee Act (HHGA) Standards?The New Zealand Government is consulting on further requirements for rental properties likely to come in force after 2020. This will include standards for heating and ventilation as well as standards for insulation and smoke alarms (like the current RTA but maybe more stringent).

The latest consultation gives a number of different options, all of which are less rigorous than HomeFit so, if you get a home HomeFit certified, it is likely to meet the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act 2017 (HHGA). Once the Healthy Home Standards have been formally published we will update HomeFit to include a check on the HHGA.

I want to know all the techy details about what HomeFit requiresSure, you can find the HomeFit Technical Manual on the NZ Green Building Council website.
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Needing to get a new building assessed?If you’ve just built, or are about to build, a brand new home that you want to be healthy, safe and warm, then go here.

Savvy house inspections are certified home-fit inspectors...book now!