When looking to rent out an investment property the issue of methamphetamine is often overlooked as an unnecessary cost and risk due to media confusion and a lack of reputable information sources.
Healthy Homes New Zealand has sampled over 12,000 properties many as part of pre and post tenancy testing. Sadly, many landlords are choosing to test only after there is suspicion. Unfortunately without a pre-tenancy test assigning liability to a particular tenancy can prove troublesome and can often meaning losing a Tenancy Tribunal hearing or Insurance Claim.
Some interesting things we have found are:
Following the Gluckman report, below is a statement from the MBIE as of 29/05/2018
What actions should landlords and tenants take now where methamphetamine is discovered in a rental property?
Tenants and landlords must continue to meet their obligations under the RTA. Using, possessing and manufacturing methamphetamine are offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Tenants who are found to have smoked or manufactured meth in a rental property are in breach of the RTA for using the rental premises for an unlawful purpose. Tenants who cause methamphetamine contamination of rental properties are in breach of their obligation not to intentionally or carelessly damage the rental premises.
Landlords who provide premises which are methamphetamine-contaminated are in breach of their obligation to provide habitable premises which are in a reasonable state of cleanliness.
Where there is a dispute about contamination, landlords and tenants can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to adjudicate on the matter. The Tribunal will take into account all evidence put before it and make a binding decision.
In a Field Composite multiple samples are taken at a property and then combined into a single test tube on site and sent to the laboratory for analysis. The results are reported as an accumulative total.
Advantages:
– One sample taken in every “high use” area in accordance with NZS8510:2017
– As only minimal test tubes are used the cost of analysis is more affordable
Disadvantages:
– As the samples are combined into a test tube, if contamination is found we are unable to isolate which room holds the contamination
In a Laboratory Composite multiple samples are taken within a property but they are all kept, and sent to the laboratory, individually for analysis. The laboratory will take an extraction from each test tube and combine them into a single analysis. The result shows the maximum level of methamphetamine that could be present on a single swab and also provides an average level of contamination across all swabs.
Advantages:
– One sample taken in every “high use” area in accordance with NZS8510:2017
– As the samples are all kept separate, if contamination is found they can be re-analysed individually to ascertain which sampling location holds the contamination.
Note: Re-analysis is an additional cost per test tube
Disadvantages:
– As samples are taken and kept individually, the sample collection takes longer and stricter cross-contamination practices must be enforced which increases the cost