If landlords rent out a property contaminated by meth, they may be breaching their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, the Building Act 2004 and the Health Act 1956.
The Residential Tenancies Act does not state what level of meth contamination is acceptable for health reasons in a rental property. However, the Standards New Zealand considers a house contaminated if meth is present at levels higher than 1.5 µg/100 cm2 and the report released by the previous Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, states that the exposure to meth should be at levels above 15 µg/100 cm2 to cause serious adverse effects.
If you suspect that your property has been used as a P-lab, you should test it and conduct decontamination before renting it out.
If you’d like to check your property and book a meth test, Healthy Homes NZ offers a $10 discount for myRent users on their meth testing services. Visit this link to send your enquiry.
The information contained in this article is exclusively for promotional purposes. It does not in any way constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any legal action or contractual dealings. The information is not, and does not attempt to be, a comprehensive account of the relevant law in New Zealand. If you require legal advice you should seek independent legal counsel. myRent.co.nz does not accept any liability that may arise from the use of this information.
