Neon Numbers, Dark Corners: The Real Risks in NZ’s Meth Framework

It’s not the regulations. It’s how you use them 😬

The thing about neon signs is that they illuminate themselves and little else. And as much as these meth reg numbers (15 and 30) flex their fluorescent glory, there will still be plenty of street corners left unlit.

Here’s the reality: the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) never intended these regulations to be the floodlight on all things meth. Section 138C gives a deliberately narrow brief:

• Specify maximum acceptable levels of contamination and inhabitability

• Impose specific landlord requirements

• Prescribe methods for testing and decontamination

• Set rules for abandoned goods on contaminated premises

Notably silent? Cleanliness. Baseline testing. Unlawful use. And quite appropriately so. The regs are not there to do your job for you.

So before we get carried away by the glow of 15µg/100cm2 (“contaminated”) and 30 (“uninhabitable”), remember: the real headaches of meth in rentals aren’t always illuminated by the regs.

Contamination vs reasonably clean

The RTA deals with several distinctive concepts: cleanliness, damage, contamination and habitability. While the new framework collapses most of these into one neat bundle, cleanliness continues to stand apart. A property can be below 15 and still fail the “reasonably clean” test. Liability follows the party at fault, whichever end of the tenancy you’re on. Numbers matter, but they don’t close off the Tribunal’s discretion.

Baseline testing is voluntary & a no-brainer

Yes, the regs make in-between tenancy testing voluntary. But the District Court precedents in Eren and Brooking* still flicker in the background like old wiring. Skip a baseline test and good luck proving who caused contamination.

Property managers would be wise to hardwire meth-testing into their management authorities. For $250 you buy more than a lab result. You buy leverage: a paper trail that leads to s56 termination, exemplary damages, and an easier conversation with insurers. Call it an expense all you want, it’s actually cheap insurance.

Do Better

The regulations are only ever going to tell you so much. Bright lines at 15 and 30 look decisive, but they don’t make day-to-day judgement calls. You do.

Control is the distinguish feature between compliance and professionalism. When you comply, you are always on the backfoot. When you act professionally, you are deterring and preventing.

Act, don’t react. Set expectations in your management authorities. Test regularly. Document everything. Signal loudly to tenants that the lights are always on. People don’t do crime when they know someone is watching.

Flip the Switch

Don’t wait for the Tribunal to rule on your meth claim, don’t have one in the first place. Sign up at tenancyadvisory.co.nz for critical updates on the regulations, legal insights, and commercial strategies that keep you out of dark corners.

*Eren v Martin [2021] NZDC 15210 and Brooking v Imrie [2021] NZDC 16976