Tenant Liable for Meth Testing Costs but Not Decontamination

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[2025] NZTT 5177217

TENANCY TRIBUNAL AT PUKEKOHE | TE TARAIPIUNARA RETIHANGA KI PUKEKOHE

APPLICANT: [redacted]

Landlord

RESPONDENT: [redacted]

Tenant

TENANCY ADDRESS: [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

ORDER

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,760.00 (6405063-008) immediately apportioned as follows based on the table below:

[COMPANY] As Agent For [NAME]: $2,009.60

[NAME] and [NAME]: $750.40

Description Landlord Tenant Meth testing (composite) costs $1,092.50 Meth testing (discreet) costs $890.10 Filing fee reimbursement $27.00 Total award $2,009.60 Bond $2,009.60 $750.40

Reasons:

1. Both parties attended the hearing.

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2. The landlord has applied for compensation and refund of the bond following the end of the tenancy.

3. The tenancy commenced on 4 August 2022 and ended on 17 January 2025.

Is the tenant responsible for damage and/or methamphetamine testing costs to the premises?

4. A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

5. Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

6. Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.

7. Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.

8. Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

9. The landlord claims that during the period of this tenancy, the tenant has caused or permitted others living at the premises to have caused the property to be contaminated by methamphetamine use and/or manufacture on the premises which damaged the property.

10. The landlord incurred methamphetamine testing and cleaning costs and 5 weeks’ lost rent while the premises is being cleaned and decontaminated.

11. Baseline testing of methamphetamine prior to the start of the tenancy had been undertaken in June 2022; no methamphetamine was detected in the premises. At the end of the tenancy, the composite test undertaken on 20 January 2025 recorded 8.03μg (micrograms) of methamphetamine residue.

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12. Discreet methamphetamine testing was done on 29 January 2025 whereby 4.42μg of methamphetamine residue was found in bedroom 2, 3.73μg of methamphetamine residue was found in the hallway, 3.03μg of methamphetamine residue was found in the kitchen, 1.9μg of methamphetamine residue was found in the bathroom, and 1.75μg of methamphetamine residue was found in the laundry.

13. I find on the balance of probabilities that there had been methamphetamine use (which is unlawful) in the premises during the tenancy.

14. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the tenant is liable to pay the landlord the cost of the composite and detailed methamphetamine tests undertaken, as set out in the table above.

15. I consider the methamphetamine testing costs were reasonably undertaken and incurred by the landlord in the circumstances given my finding that it is more likely than not that methamphetamine use has occurred at the premises during the tenancy.

16. The landlord’s remaining claims for lost rent and methamphetamine decontamination costs rest on whether the premises required remediation, cleaning and replacement of chattels based on the methamphetamine test results.

17. Composite methamphetamine testing results recorded a theoretical maximum reading of 8.03μg of methamphetamine residue on the premises.

18. Detailed methamphetamine testing subsequently undertaken recorded a maximum of 4.42μg of methamphetamine residue in one of the bedrooms.

19. In 2010 the New Zealand Ministry of Health produced guidelines for the remediation of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories, and determined that remediation was required if the environmental level of methamphetamine was 0.5μg/100cm2. While that related to laboratories, it is the case that the 0.5 level became the de facto level at which premises were considered to require decontamination.

20. In 2017 the level was increased when [NAME] released Standard NZS 8510:2017 “Testing and decontamination of methamphetamine- contaminated properties”. At that time, this standard set the definitive levels at which properties which had methamphetamine contamination, required remediation. The Standard confirmed that:

After seeking expert advice on exposure risk from [COMPANY] ([COMPANY]) and the Ministry of Health, and reviewing a large number of public comments on a draft of this standard, the committee has decided to set the maximum acceptable level of methamphetamine in an affected property at 1.5μg/100cm2 after decontamination. While this level is greater than the Ministry of Health 2010 guideline value of 0.5μg/100cm2 for properties used as clandestine

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laboratories, there are a number of reasons why the committee decided to adopt the single value of 1.5μg/100cm2 in this standard.

21. In short, this standard confirmed that the level at which habitation of residential premises was considered safe, was a level of 1.5μg/100cm2. The expectation on landlords arising from this Standard, was to remediate premises contaminated with methamphetamine, to a level of less than 1.5μg/100cm2.

22. In more recent times, the Prime Minister’s Chief [NAME] determined that there was little evidence supporting health risks from exposure to residue from methamphetamine consumption (Report entitled ‘Methamphetamine contamination in residential properties: Exposures, risk levels, and interpretation of standards’, 29 May 2018). The report concluded that any levels below 15μg/100cm2 were unlikely to present adverse effects:

Taken together, these factors indicate that methamphetamine levels that exceed the NZS 8510:2017 clean-up standard of 1.5μg/100cm2 should not be regarded as signalling a health risk. Indeed, exposure to methamphetamine levels below 15μg/100cm2 would be unlikely to give rise to any adverse effects. This level still incorporates a 30-fold safety buffer on a conservative estimate of risk.

23. In the District Court judgment of Diamond Real Estate Limited v Allan [2017] NZDC 833, Judge Kellar considered a case in which remediation was undertaken in reliance on the 2010 Ministry of Health level of 0.5μg/100cm2. It is the case that following the remediation work the Standard NZS 8510:2017 was released, which as noted above increased the acceptable level to 1.5μg/100cm2. Judge Kellar records that when the premises were tested, the highest level recorded was in the toilet at 1.4μg/100cm2 that “exceeded the Ministry of Health guidelines at the time.” [ADDRESS] confirmed that any consideration as to whether the premises had been damaged, must be based on the prevailing guidelines at that time.

24. At this time, there remains a current New Zealand Standard of 1.5μg/100cm2, and also a current opinion from the Chief [NAME] that there is no evidence of risk below 15μg/100cm2.

25. This matter has been considered recently by the District Court in Full Circle Real Estate Limited v Danielle Piper [2019] NZDC 4947. Judge Kellar needed to determine which level should be applied. [ADDRESS] discussed the conflict between the [NAME] report, and confirmed:

The Tenancy Tribunal was in a difficult position. The best state of knowledge of risk to human health from methamphetamine contamination available to the adjudicator was the [NAME]. It would have been bold for the adjudicator to have ignored that report in favour of the New Zealand Standard

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given that the [NAME] report represents the current scientific knowledge on the risk to human health from methamphetamine contamination in dwellings.

26. In my assessment, this decisions of the District Court confirmed that the level to be applied is the level expressed by the Chief [NAME], which is that there is no risk when levels of contamination are below 15μg/100cm2.

27. Here, the recorded levels of contamination on the composite and detailed testings are above the threshold set by current New Zealand Standard of 1.5μg/100cm2 but below the risk level expressed by the Chief [NAME] of 15μg/100cm2; objectively, the property did not require remediation or decontamination.

28. There is therefore no basis for the landlord to seek decontamination and cleaning costs, and damages in the form of lost rent and replacement of chattels against the tenant.

29. The premises have not been returned to the landlord in an unacceptable state of cleanliness in terms of methamphetamine presence.

30. There is no cogent evidence before me to indicate that the premises are not ‘safe’ in terms of the prevailing Ministry of Health guidelines at the time of testing.

31. There is also no evidence to indicate the premises have been ‘damaged’ by methamphetamine nor do any chattels warrant replacement at the end of the tenancy.

32. That being the case, the landlord’s claims for methamphetamine decontamination costs and lost rent while methamphetamine cleaning is being undertaken must fail.

33. Only the amounts ordered are proved; the bond is apportioned to the parties accordingly.

[NAME]

05 June 2025

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Please read carefully: Visit justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals for more information on rehearings and appeals.

Rehearings You can apply for a rehearing if you believe that a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has happened. For example: • you did not get the letter telling you the date of the hearing, or • the adjudicator improperly admitted or rejected evidence, or • new evidence, relating to the original application, has become available.

You must give reasons and evidence to support your application for a rehearing. A rehearing will not be granted just because you disagree with the decision. You must apply within five working days of the decision using the Application for Rehearing form: justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Forms/TT-Application-for-rehearing.pdf

Right of Appeal Both the landlord and the tenant can file an appeal. You should file your appeal at the District Court where the original hearing took place. The cost for an appeal is $260. You must apply within 10 working days after the decision is issued using this Appeal to the District Court form: justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals

Grounds for an appeal You can appeal if you think the decision was wrong, but not because you don’t like the decision. For some cases, there’ll be no right to appeal. For example, you can’t appeal: • against an interim order • a final order for the payment of less than $1000 • a final order to undertake work worth less than $1000.

Enforcement Where the Tribunal made an order about money or property this is called a civil debt. The Ministry of Justice Collections Team can assist with enforcing civil debt. You can contact the collections team on [PHONE] or go to justice.govt.nz/fines/civil-debt for forms and information.

Notice to a party ordered to pay money or vacate premises, etc. Failure to comply with any order may result in substantial additional costs for enforcement. It may also involve being ordered to appear in the District Court for an examination of your means or seizure of your property.

If you require further help or information regarding this matter, visit tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing- decisions or phone Tenancy Services on [PHONE].

Mēna ka hiahia koe ki ētahi atu awhina, kōrero ranei mo tēnei take, haere ki tenei ipurangi tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions, waea atu ki Ratonga Takirua ma runga [PHONE] ranei.

https://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Forms/TT-Application-for-rehearing.pdf https://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals/ https://www.justice.govt.nz/fines/about-civil-debt/ https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions http://www.tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions/

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A manaomia nisi faamatalaga poo se fesoasoani, e uiga i lau mataupu, asiasi ifo le matou aupega tafailagi: tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions, pe fesootai mai le Tenancy Services i le numera [PHONE].

Reasons: