A District Court decision has ruled that the Gluckman report should be relied on when methamphetamine contamination cases are brought to the Tenancy Tribunal.
This significant decision has binding precedent over similar methamphetamine contamination cases at the Tenancy Tribunal where the levels are below or over the threshold of 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres.
So how did this come to be?
Tenancy Tribunal Order
In a District Court appeal in 2019, Full Circle Real Estate attempted to overturn a Tenancy Tribunal order that dismissed their claim for methamphetamine contamination testing costs, damage costs and lost rent, totalling over $5000.
In the tenancy of Danielle Piper, there was no pre-tenancy methamphetamine test completed, but during the tenancy a smoke alarm was installed which later tested positive for methamphetamine.
This did establish that methamphetamine had been more than likely used during the tenancy, however, the smoke alarm test did not actually specify a level of the class-A drug.
At the end of her tenancy, a testing company report highlighted that 12 of the 16 swab tests conducted throughout the house showed results above the “current accepted level of 1.5 micrograms per 100 square centimetres for high use arears.”
But only the toilet area tested above 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres.
This proved significant.
So why did the Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator and District Court judge favour the Gluckman report over the New Zealand Standard? How does this case influence Tenancy Tribunal decisions? And when will official regulations be established? Watch the full Training Snippet here in Total Tenancy.
