During Alert Level 2.5 “open homes”, in their traditional sense are not permitted.

There can be no more than 10 people, including the property manager, inside the home at any time. No group attending an open home can have more than 10 people. All contact tracing, physical distancing and health/sanitation measures also apply. At minimum, we must register all attendees including names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses to assist with contact tracing.

In Level 2 or above, masks or face coverings will be compulsory on public transport, planes, taxis and Ubers. In other public places, face coverings are strongly encouraged. Therefore, we encourage face coverings during open homes, private viewings, rental viewings and other situations where you may be in close proximity to others.

In order to keep our number of viewings, and, therefore, physical contact to an absolute minimum, all prospect tenants will be invited to complete Goodwins’ application prior to a viewing time being arranged; and, this tenancy application may be processed in advance of your physical inspection.

Essentially, we are please asking that you make full use of online photographs, virtual reality tours, and videos to ensure this property is of very serious interest to you. A physical viewing by prospect-tenant is becoming the concluding-step before application is submitted to owner for their final acceptance.

Upon arrival, please remain mindful of physical distancing. Covid-19 information, a NZ Covid Tracer QR code, and hygiene notices will be displayed at entry to property.

To ensure physical distancing (2m minimum between different bubbles) can be maintained at all times may mean staggering access to the property and requiring attendees to wait outside the property until prior attendees leave. Queue management processes/measures may also be necessary to ensure attendees waiting to enter maintain physical distancing

Please take special note. Particularly, to remember that the best defence against Covid-19 is basic hygiene measures like thorough hand washing with soap and water and sneezing and coughing into your elbow. Hand sanitiser shall be available for use by all attendees prior to entering and, upon exiting property. Shoes must please be removed prior to entry. Every effort is being made to ensure your time at the property is essentially, ‘contactless’ and surfaces, doors, cupboards must not be touched. If you require assistance in this regard, please alert member of our Team. Viewings will be kept as brief as reasonably possible.

Following each viewing, we will sanitise any areas that attendees may have accidentally touched. For this purpose, we shall use a product that is anti-viral and follow instructions.

We please ask you take special note:

  1. Those feeling unwell, who are self-isolating, or, have been in contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19 during the past 14 days are please not to attend a physical inspection.
  2. By attending our appointment, you will be making a statement in declaration that you are feeling well, and, have had no contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19, or, any other reason to self-isolate during the past 14 days.
  3. High risk people are discouraged from attending viewings (e.g. those over 70 or those with other pre-existing medical conditions). If this applies to you, we will work as best we can to make alternate arrangements. Perhaps a family member, or, close friend could attend on your behalf and use live streaming to ‘walk’ you through.
  4. No private viewings are permitted at a property where the client/occupants have been unwell with flu like symptoms, are self-isolating, or, have been in contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19 within the previous 14 days.
  5. No private viewings are permitted in homes where the occupants are high risk (e.g. elderly, or, with pre-existing medical conditions). These properties will only be available for viewing once tenant has vacated. Your pre-registration is invited.
  6. We will retain attendance registers in case they are requested by Worksafe or the Ministry of Health. Should you become unwell within 14 days of attending our viewing, please contact Goodwins via our CEO, Catherine Goodwin on 021 437 710 or, by e-mail catherine@goodwins.co.nz

The health and well-being of our team, landlord-clients and tenants, prospect-clients and tenants, and our wider community is of the utmost importance to Goodwins.

We recommend you monitor closely our National Website: https://covid19.govt.nz/, to stay informed, and find advice of how to keep your household safe and well; and, how to access healthcare, support and essential services, as needed.

Comprehensive summaries are being regularly provided to Goodwins’ landlord-clients and tenants. These e-mailed updates are complemented by emergency announcements, and/or small soundbites of information as they come-to-hand being shared via our company Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GoodwinsNZ/.

This page provides an intentional mix of business and other community information. Should you be an owner of rental property, and struggling to make sense of any part of the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill as it relates to residential tenancies, we welcome your contact.

Should it become necessary that our offices close, again, please be assured that our entire team now have well-established home offices. This includes our leadership, business development, and administration teams, and all property managers serving both our residential and commercial property portfolios.

Goodwins has invested significantly to ensure we are largely cloud-based, and all our Team have a secure log-in to Goodwins server from our home PC’s and laptops. Our Team has well established internal communication networks that will ensure our workflows are maintained as well as they possibly can be. We are similarly assured by our various technology partners that they are at near-full operational capacity. As has been well proven-now, we are also able to rearrange most meetings via alternate ‘virtual’ meeting forums!

Golden rules for business at Alert Level 2

  • Reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at work.
  • All businesses can operate if they can do so safely. Alternative ways of working are encouraged where possible.
  • Talk with your staff to identify risks and ways to manage them.
  • Ask everyone, workers, contractors and customers, with cold or flu-like symptoms to stay away from your premises.
  • Keep groups of customers at least 1 metre apart, or 2 metres for retail businesses.
  • Businesses need to display a QR code and have an alternative contact tracing system.
  • Face coverings are strongly encouraged if you are in close contact with others.
  • Reduce the number of shared surfaces, and regularly disinfect them.
  • Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.