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Authors: Lisa Gerrard, Raaj Govinda
Published: 18 July 2017
Pages: 31

Introduction

National Standards Committee (Committee) was established in May 2016 to produce a standard covering the testing and remediation of properties contaminated by the manufacture or use of methamphetamine (meth). The Committee comprises 21 stakeholders from a variety of industries, including the Insurance Council of New Zealand, Local Government New Zealand, the Ministry of Health, testing companies, decontamination companies and representatives from the property management and property investment sectors.

At the time of writing, a ballot draft of the Standard is with the Committee, with voting due to be completed shortly. It is anticipated that the final New Zealand Standard for the Testing and Decontamination of Methamphetamine Contaminated Properties (P8510) (the Standard) will be released in late June 2017.

It is important to note that national standards are not mandatory unless they are incorporated by reference in legislation. At the time of writing, the Standard has not been referenced in legislation and so provides ‘best practice’ guidance only. Notwithstanding this, the judiciary is likely to consider the Standard in its assessment of whether a party to litigation involving meth testing and/or decontamination has acted reasonably.

This section of the paper provides an overview of the legal matters to be considered when advising purchasers, vendors, tenants and landlords on the implications of potential (or known) meth contamination of properties. A summary of the Standard, prepared by Raaj Govinda of Hutt City Council, appears in the next section of this paper.

Content outline

• Methamphetamine and residential property: legal considerations
  • Considerations for conveyancing practitioners
  • Advising vendors
  • Obligations of real estate agents in the sale of a potentially contaminated property
  • Landlords and tenants
• Summary of NZS p8510
  • Section one: General
  • Section two: Overview
  • Section three: Contamination–level assessment
  • Section four: Decontamination
  • Section five: Post-decontamination actions
  • Section six: Reporting and documentation
  • Section seven: Competencies

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