Meth bill on the cards

National MP Andrew Bayley plans to introduce a members’ bill that would give landlords more power to test and remedy their rental properties of dangerous levels of contamination.

He said the number of residential properties owned or offered for sale, which are later discovered to be contaminated by meth is increasing.

“This is a balanced bill that places obligation on the landlord to provide rental accommodation free of P-contamination, while giving them more power to confront the problem in their properties.”

Bayley said the changes proposed in his Bill would enable landlords to enter premises with appropriate notice for the purposes of testing for meth and other dangerous substances.

They also reinforce that tenants can be removed when a house is uninhabitable and ensures contaminated houses aren’t tenanted, he said.

“This prevents landlords from knowingly renting meth-contaminated properties and requires them to inform tenants as soon as practicable of the results of a meth test that show dangerous levels of contamination.”

These law changes would complement the new testing and remediation standard for meth contaminated properties, which a Standards NZ appointed committee is developing, he added.

The NZ Property Investors Federation is not represented on the committee which is dominated by representatives from the testing industry.

But Bayley said he had consulted with the NZPIF as part of his work on the Bill.

Meanwhile, the committee is due to hold its first meeting on June 29, with the draft of the standard due to be released for public comment later this year.