A number of recent cases before the Tenancy Tribunal have resulted in tenants having to pay thousands for meth testing decontamination and insurance excesses. Photo: Katy Gosset/RNZ
Eight years after a report that found no evidence third-hand exposure to methamphetamine causes health problems and two years after consultation on proposed new regulations, there is still confusion about how to handle meth in rental properties.
A number of recent cases before the Tenancy Tribunal have resulted in tenants having to pay thousands for meth testing, decontamination, and insurance excesses.
In one case, in a property in Upper Hutt, five of 10 readings exceeded the safe level - the bathroom extractor fan was 185. The tenants were required to cover the landlord's insurance excess of $2500.
In another case, in Kaikohe, the average amount across 10 samples was 21.6 micrograms. The tenant was also asked to pay $2500 the insurance excess.
"Although only parts of the property were contaminated at a level above 15 micrograms, the cost of testing and de-contamination of those areas would comfortably exceed the amount the claim."
In another, tenants were told to pay about $800 for testing and cleaning.
In 2018, Sir Peter Gluckman's report said that the accepted threshold for contamination was 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres - about 10 times the limit previously considered acceptable.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is working on regulations that would include a maximum acceptable level of residue and requirements for landlords.
Consultation opened in November 2022 and closed in March 2023.
A spokesperson said that work continued.
"At this stage, the Ministry expects Cabinet decisions on the regulations before the end of the year. "
NZ Property Investors Federation spokesperson Matt Ball said there was more understanding of the issue than in the past.
"That said, there are still no legally binding rules around management of methamphetamine residue in rental housing.
"This causes uncertainty, inconsistent standards, lack of public confidence about how to manage meth contamination risks and unnecessarily high costs for remediation in some cases.
"NZPIF is hopeful that the proposed regulations will address these issues."
The Insurance Council of New Zealand said methamphetamine insurance claims had been relatively stable in the past five years.
"Claims for drug and methamphetamine contamination are made across a variety of domestic home and contents insurance, commercial or private motor vehicle, and business policies.
"Given the cover for methamphetamine contamination from manufacture and/or consumption is well understood by insurers and typically built into policies designed for property investors, demand has not been notably rising.
"However, as more homeowners offer short-term rental arrangements in their own home, such as via Air BnB, standard home and contents insurance may not respond in the same way to methamphetamine contamination as specialised landlord policies."
The spokesperson said customers should speak to insurers about how their policies might respond.
"Making sure your insurer is aware of your specific circumstances can help manage and protect your property with appropriate insurance cover, including cover for contamination from illegal substances."
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