Skip to main content
Auckland Council
Auckland Council
Auckland Council

Our obligations regarding properties with methamphetamine contamination

We have a number of statutory obligations to meet once we are aware that a property has a certain level of methamphetamine contamination.

When we first hear about a methamphetamine contamination at a property

When we find out that a property is contaminated by the presence of methamphetamine, we contact the owner of that property.

The owner then has to have the property tested to determine:

  • if the property is contaminated
  • the level of contamination.

If the property is contaminated, it will need to be vacated and decontaminated. See Your obligations as an owner of a methamphetamine contaminated property for more information.

 

You should know

Properties contaminated with methamphetamine above acceptable levels pose a health risk to occupants.

If the property is occupied and hasn't been decontaminated within 20 working days we will issue a Cleansing Order.

If the property is occupied and hasn't been decontaminated for a further 20 working days, we will issue a Repair Notice. This requires the property to be immediately vacated.

If the property is occupied and hasn't been decontaminated for a further 20 working days, we will issue a Closing Order. This requires the property to be immediately vacated.

Legal proceedings will be carried out against owners who don't comply with a Closing Order.

Properties with contamination level less than 15ug/100cm2

A report released in May 2018 by the Prime Minister's office found that there is unlikely to be a health risk to occupants of a property when:

  • the level of methamphetamine contamination is less than 15ug/100cm2
  • there is no evidence that the property was used to manufacture methamphetamine.

For more information, see the Gluckman report - Methamphetamine contamination in residential properties (PDF 532KB).

Our obligations for decontaminated properties

Once the property is decontaminated, we will:

  • remove the methamphetamine contamination tag from the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) of an existing property if there was no evidence of meth manufacture
  • not take action on any new notifications of methamphetamine use.
Terms and conditionsPrivacy policySite map
© Auckland Council 2019
New Zealand Government