TV digital changeover?

John asks:
(updated on Wednesday, October 24th 2012)

What are the responsibilities of a landlord regarding television signals changing to digital in the near future? We have several properties with the standard TV aerial and some with the Sky dish receiver.

Our Experts Answer:

It all depends on what you promised the tenant when they signed their tenancy agreement. If the tenants expected free-to-air television or if it is currently used by the tenant (via your supplied analogue aerial) you are probably obliged to replace the old analogue aerial with an equivalent UHF aerial for Freeview digital reception. There may be, however, other costs that the tenant will have to pay for themselves, such as a Freeview decoder. I suggest you look at http://www.goingdigital.co.nz/ for details on requirements and timeframes. Some areas are switching to digital television this year and others next year. Remember also that by providing at least some means of television reception to a tenant you are increasing the marketability of your property and keeping your tenants happy.

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