What 348 Tribunal Cases Tell Us

A new report looked at 348 Tenancy Tribunal decisions from January – May 2026 involving the Healthy Homes Standards, and the results are worth knowing.

The headline numbers

• Landlords lost 73% of cases where Healthy Homes was the main issue
• Heating and ventilation claims: landlords lost all 17
• Exemplary damages were awarded in 61% of cases, averaging $4,155      (highest: $31,434)

The real risk? Paperwork, not property condition

• Landlords most often lost not because their property was in worse shape, but because they couldn't produce the right records. A few key findings:
• Missing or inaccurate Healthy Homes compliance statements significantly hurt outcomes; an inaccurate one was worse than none at all.
• Once notified of an issue, delays in fixing it counted heavily against landlords, even on otherwise compliant properties.
• Flagging a problem in an assessment and not acting on it was treated as proof the landlord knew, the most common basis for a serious breach finding.
• No compliance statement at all: landlords lost 54% of the time.An inaccurate one was worse: a 78% loss rate.
• Where assessment age came up as an issue, the loss rate nearly doubled compared to cases where it didn't.
• The Tribunal expects more from professionals, which is exactly the standard we hold ourselves to.

What worked: current, independent assessments, clear records of prompt responses, and photo evidence of property condition at move-in. Together, a strong independent assessment plus weak evidence from the tenant accounted for more than three-quarters of successful landlord defences.

What this means for you

This is exactly why we manage your compliance, communication, and maintenance response the way we do, it's built around this data. You don't need to track any of this yourself.

Two things worth knowing

1. If your Healthy Homes assessment is nearing or past a couple of years old, it's due for reinspection. Your property manager will reach out when it's time. No action needed now
2. When we come to you for approval on a Healthy Homes repair, a quick "yes" matters. Speed of response is what the Tribunal weighs most heavily.