Fixed heater not working in a rental: NZ landlord winter checklist

If a tenant says the rental's fixed heater is not working, treat it as a winter triage job first and a paperwork job second. Acknowledge the report, check whether there is an immediate safety or habitability issue, confirm what heater is affected, arrange the right inspection or repair, and keep the evidence with the property record.

This is general information for New Zealand landlords, not legal advice. Use Tenancy Services, qualified tradespeople, assessors, and legal advisers as the source of truth for legal and technical decisions.

What should a landlord do first when the fixed heater is not working?

Start by finding out whether the problem is a simple operating issue, a failed appliance, an electrical risk, or a wider Healthy Homes concern. The first message back to the tenant should collect enough detail to make the next decision clear.

Ask for:

• the heater location and type
• whether the heater turns on at all
• any error code, unusual sound, smell, spark, or burning smell
• whether the remote, thermostat, switchboard, or isolation switch has been checked
• whether the issue affects the main living room or another room
• when the heater last worked
• photos or a short video if useful
• whether anyone in the home is immediately affected by the cold

Do not try to diagnose a heat pump, wiring fault, flued gas heater, or woodburner by message alone. The point of the first reply is to decide whether the next step is make-safe, urgent trade check, routine service, or follow-up inspection.

When does a heating issue become urgent?

Treat the issue as urgent when waiting is likely to increase injury risk, property damage, or serious tenant welfare risk. Tenancy Services says urgent repairs can apply where disrepair is likely to cause injury to people or property.

For heating, urgent signs include:

• electrical smell, sparking, smoke, tripping breakers, or exposed wiring
• a gas smell or concern with a flued gas heater
• a heater that appears unsafe to operate
• no usable fixed heating in the main living room during cold conditions
• a vulnerable household where lack of heat creates a real immediate welfare concern
• a wider issue such as damp, mould, leak, or ventilation failure that is made worse by no heat

If there is a safety concern, tell the tenant not to use the heater until it has been checked. Arrange the right qualified trade rather than asking the tenant to keep testing it.

How does this connect to the Healthy Homes heating standard?

The Healthy Homes heating standard requires one or more fixed heaters that directly heat the main living room. Tenancy Services says the heater or heaters must be fixed, not portable, meet the required heating capacity for the main living room, and be acceptable under the standard.

That means a failed fixed heater can be more than a comfort complaint. It can affect the practical reality behind the property's Healthy Homes record, especially if the heater serving the main living room is the one that is not working.

For a landlord, the working question is:

Does the property still have qualifying, working fixed heating for the main living room, and can we prove what we checked and what we did next?

If the answer is uncertain, treat the repair and the compliance record as connected.

What should the first 24 hours look like?

A calm first-day workflow is enough for most situations:

1. Acknowledge the report and collect the basic facts.
2. Check for safety markers: smell, smoke, sparking, gas, exposed wiring, overheating, or repeated breaker trips.
3. Confirm whether the affected heater serves the main living room.
4. If unsafe, tell the tenant not to use it and arrange a qualified trade check.
5. If not unsafe but not working, book repair, service, or replacement assessment.
6. Give the tenant a clear update with the next step and expected follow-up.
7. Save the report, photos, trade notes, invoice, and follow-up date with the property.

The key is to avoid the "we will look into it" gap. Tenants chase when they cannot tell whether the issue has been triaged, booked, or forgotten.

What should the tenant update say?

Keep the message plain and specific. For example:

Thanks for sending this through. Please confirm whether the heater turns on, whether there are any smells, sparks, error codes, or switchboard trips, and whether this is the fixed heater in the main living room. We will triage this today and come back with the next step.

If there is a safety concern:

Please do not use the heater until it has been checked. We are treating this as a safety check and arranging the right trade. If you notice smoke, a gas smell, sparking, or exposed wiring, tell us straight away and follow emergency advice.

If it is a repair or service job:

We have logged this as a heating repair and are arranging a service check. We will update you once the trade booking is confirmed and will keep the notes with the property record.

The exact wording should match the actual facts. Do not promise a repair time you cannot meet, and do not tell the tenant the property is compliant until the relevant check has been made.

What evidence should landlords keep?

Keep the heating issue attached to the property, not scattered across messages.

Save:

• the tenant's first report
• photos, videos, and timestamps
• heater make, model, location, and capacity information if available
• thermostat, remote, switchboard, or error-code notes
• safety triage decision
• trade booking details
• contractor report, invoice, or service notes
• replacement assessment if needed
• tenant updates
• follow-up date
• any Healthy Homes record update needed after the repair

This matters because heating is not only a maintenance issue. It can connect to Healthy Homes evidence, tenant communication, and later dispute prevention.

What if the heater needs replacing?

If the heater needs replacing, avoid making the replacement decision from memory. Tenancy Services says landlords can calculate required heating capacity using the heating assessment tool, the regulations, or a professional assessment.

Before approving the replacement, confirm:

• which room the heater must serve
• whether it directly heats the main living room
• the required heating capacity
• whether the proposed heater is acceptable under the standard
• whether a thermostat is required
• whether any exemption or partial exemption is being relied on
• what evidence should be saved after installation

A like-for-like replacement can still be a compliance miss if the old unit was not actually enough for the current standard.

Where Keel fits

Keel does not replace Tenancy Services, an electrician, a heat-pump technician, a gasfitter, a builder, an assessor, or a legal adviser.

Keel helps with the operating layer around the heating issue:

• tenant reports come into one workflow
• photos and context stay attached to the rental
• safety and urgency can be triaged before the job drifts
• repair approvals and trade updates are easier to track
• Healthy Homes evidence stays closer to the property record
• follow-up dates do not live in memory

For a self-managing landlord, the benefit is not only getting the heater fixed. It is being able to show what was reported, what was checked, what was approved, and what changed afterward.

If heating, damp, maintenance, and tenant updates are starting to run through scattered messages, see how Keel works for landlords.

Source notes

• Tenancy Services, Heating standard.
• Tenancy Services, Healthy homes compliance.
• Tenancy Services, Ventilation standard.
• Tenancy Services, Damage and repairs.