App to help landlords detect drugs

Agency chief executive Kirk Hardy said the TDDA family app contained a section specifically on clan labs and cannabis cultivation rooms.

He said his agency used to give presentations to landlords but it was sometimes hard for them to remember the information when they got to their rental properties at inspection time.

“With this, it’s hands-on, if they see something they can fire up the app and have a look and say if that’s what it looks like. There are little telltale signs.”

He said it also covered questions about what to do if suspicious activity was uncovered, and safety concerns.

Hardy said drug cultivation and manufacture in rental properties was a huge problem. “People don’t realize, because there’s so much emphasis on methamphetamine, they don’t realise the damage that cannabis cultivation can do.”

He said the app had drawn from the agency’s experience and put it into one app that made the information easily accessible.  “It’s a massive issue for landlords because they’re in charge and they’re left holding the baby, dealing with the clean-up and insurance issues.”

The agency will donate a quarter of the revenue of its sales of the app to support Starship.