Methamphetamine Law Changes April 2026

In 2018 the government commissioned Gluckman Report stated that the threshold for meth contamination in a property should be raised from 1.5ug/100cm2 to 15ug/100cm2. Since then, landlords, tenancy tribunal and insurers have operated in a bit of a mish mash manner, with precedents and outcomes evolving over the years, creating a space where no one was ever completely sure what standard to meet.

New regulations are finally due to be in force from the 16th April this year.

Is it compulsory to test a rental property?
No. The only instance where testing is compulsory, is where the NZ Police or a local authority such as a District Council has informed you that the property has, or may have been used for manufacture.

When is a property considered contaminated?
When any high use area tests at over 15ug/100cm2. A high use area is any area that can be easily accessed and is regularly used by adults and children such as bedrooms, living room, kitchen and dining, bathrooms, hallways. A connected garage might be a high use area, a standalone garage, not.

What happens then?
If over 15 but below the uninhabitable threshold of above 30ug/100cm - the particular area which has a result over 15, must be decontaminated to bring that area below 15 within a reasonable timeframe. The ordinary notice provisions of the RTA apply and either party may choose to give ordinary notices.

If 15 or below - no action is required as per the minimum standard set out in the regulations. However, if a result returns at 14 or 10 or 9 – some landlords may choose to decontaminate. In the same way, a tenancy agreement forbids a property to be used for unlawful purposes, if a result comes back at 15 or below, the tenant, if at fault, is in breach and can be pursued for exemplary damages.

When is a property is considered uninhabitable due to contamination?
When it tests at above 30ug/100cm. Short notice periods of two (tenant) and seven (landlord) days apply for the not at fault party if the whole property is deemed uninhabitable. If the whole property is not deemed uninhabitable, for example - a standalone garage is contaminated but the house is not, a different pathway will apply.

When does contamination have to be disclosed and to whom?
Landlords must disclose known methamphetamine contamination when it is above 15ug/100cm2

Who can carry out decontamination cleaning?
Anyone, including landlords and professionals as long as it is not the same person or company that completed the detailed testing assessment.

How should cleaning be done?
To comply with the decontamination process outlined in NZS8510. Once cleaning has been completed, a qualified professional must retest the affected area to confirm cleaning was successful.

What about abandoned goods in a contaminated property?
If tenants leave things behind in a contaminated property, landlords must go through the process already outlined in the RTA for dealing with abandoned goods. If the value of the goods including the cost of property decontamination and testing are less than the cost of transporting and storing the goods, the goods can be dumped.

How do I test for contamination?
Screening assessment – anyone can conduct this test following compliance with NZS 8510 standards, and an approved and validated testing kit must be used. All high use areas must be tested. If a result is found, you are obliged to move on to detailed testing.

Detailed assessment – must be laboratory based testing conducted by a qualified professional and all high use areas must be tested in accordance with NZS8510.

What is the cost to test?
Our supplier charges $199 plus gst for the first 5 swabs, and $20 plus gst for each additional swab required to cover all high use areas.

This is a lab composite screening test. If the results of the screening test indicate any one sample/swab could be over the contamination threshold, the samples which are held in the laboratory for several weeks, can then be individually tested (detailed assessment) to determine where and what the extent of contamination is.

Note: a DIY validated screening test is not cheap to buy, it then has to be delivered/couriered and someone has to physically do the testing, which would incur some kind of time and labour cost. If this test, produces a result over the threshold, a professional then needs to be called in to complete detailed testing. The gold standard for screening tests is lab based composite testing by a professional and if detailed testing is required, the samples are already at the laboratory and there is no need for an additional on site assessment. So, although DIY might be tempting, it would actually prove more costly and you would need to know how and where to test to meet NZS 8510. DIY kits could also produce false positive results.

What is baseline testing?
A baseline test is a screening assessment carried out before a tenancy begins and again at the end of that tenancy.

What are the risks of choosing not to baseline test?
It makes it more difficult to prove when contamination occurred and who is responsible.

Are there any insurance implications?
As always, you should check that you have cover for contamination in your policy and check to see if they specifically require baseline testing to be carried out. You should also check what level they consider a property to be contaminated – they may say that decontamination to below 15 to meet the minimum standard of the regulations is good enough.