Meth Testing
Landlords must provide a clean and habitable property. Tenants must not use the rental property for an unlawful purpose. This includes smoking or manufacturing meth.
If landlords rent out contaminated properties, they may be breaching their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. They may also be breaching other legislation such as the Building Act 2004 and the Health Act 1956.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 allows for regulations to be developed to set out:
Tenants must not use or manufacture methUsing, possessing, selling and manufacturing meth are offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Tenants who smoke, sell or manufacture meth in a rental property are using the property for an unlawful purpose. This is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Tenants who cause meth contamination are also breaching their obligation to not intentionally or carelessly damage the property. In most cases, tenants will be found liable for damage from meth contamination caused by a tenant or their guests.
The Tenancy Tribunal may order tenants who have used a rental property for an unlawful purpose to pay a penalty of up to $1,000.
Meth testingOn 27 August 2019, landlords can test for meth contamination during a tenancy, but they need to provide the correct notice before entering the property.
At the start of a tenancy, landlords may include additional clauses related to meth testing in the tenancy agreement. Any additional clauses must comply with the Residential Tenancies Act.
Landlords may be able to better support a claim to recover the cost of meth testing and decontamination of meth if:
If landlords rent out contaminated properties, they may be breaching their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. They may also be breaching other legislation such as the Building Act 2004 and the Health Act 1956.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 allows for regulations to be developed to set out:
- maximum acceptable level for meth contamination
- processes for testing
- decontamination of rental properties.
Tenants must not use or manufacture methUsing, possessing, selling and manufacturing meth are offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Tenants who smoke, sell or manufacture meth in a rental property are using the property for an unlawful purpose. This is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Tenants who cause meth contamination are also breaching their obligation to not intentionally or carelessly damage the property. In most cases, tenants will be found liable for damage from meth contamination caused by a tenant or their guests.
The Tenancy Tribunal may order tenants who have used a rental property for an unlawful purpose to pay a penalty of up to $1,000.
Meth testingOn 27 August 2019, landlords can test for meth contamination during a tenancy, but they need to provide the correct notice before entering the property.
At the start of a tenancy, landlords may include additional clauses related to meth testing in the tenancy agreement. Any additional clauses must comply with the Residential Tenancies Act.
Landlords may be able to better support a claim to recover the cost of meth testing and decontamination of meth if:
- at the beginning of the tenancy, the property was tested and shows no trace of meth or meth contamination
- additional clauses related to meth testing and decontamination cost are included in the tenancy agreement and agreed upon by the tenants, and
- a meth testing result during or after the tenancy indicates a higher than acceptable level for meth contamination.
