Ōu takohanga mehemea nōu tētahi whare i tāhawahawatia ai ki te whakapōauau pī

Your obligations as an owner of a methamphetamine contaminated property

If we've received evidence that your property has been used to manufacture methamphetamine, we will instruct you to test the property and decontaminate it, if necessary.

How to arrange testing of your property

Testing of the property should be carried out by contractors who are:

qualified
equipped
experienced to perform hazardous tasks.

To find meth testing contractors, check the Yellow Pages or search on the Internet.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) advises that professionals who assess and test a property must operate independently of commercial decontamination (remediation) companies.

The NZ Standard for testing and decontamination of methamphetamine-contaminated properties sets out how to test and decontaminate your property.

The standard requires that you vacate and decontaminate the property. If you have tenants you need to make sure they leave the property.

When there is evidence of a lab

If evidence of a lab exists, the property will need to be tested. If the contamination level is above 1.5ug/100cm2, the property must be vacated and decontaminated to below 1.5ug/100cm2.

For garages, sheds, or any place where people aren't living, decontamination must bring the level below 3.8ug/100cm2.

The property's LIM report will show it as being contaminated. Once a report from a suitable qualified and experienced practitioner has been received, we will update the LIM to reflect that the property has been decontaminated and poses no health risk.

If no evidence of a lab has ever existed

If no evidence of a lab has ever existed, but a test has revealed a contamination level above 15ug/100cm2, the property will need to be vacated and decontaminated to below 15ug/100cm2.

No action is required from any party if the level of methamphetamine contamination is below 15ug/100cm2, and no evidence of a lab has ever existed.

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.

After the property is decontaminated

When your property has been decontaminated, you need to arrange a second test to ensure the property is no longer contaminated.

You will need to send a copy of the test results to us.