• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Parry Field Lawyers
  • Home
  • About
    • News & Insights
    • Terms of Engagement
  • Our People
  • Services
    • Property
      • Residential
      • Construction
      • Subdivisions
      • Commercial
      • Leasing
      • Community Housing Information Hub
    • Advisory
      • Employment
      • Sale & Purchases
      • Financing
      • Governance
      • Technology/IT
      • Start-ups and Capital Raising Hub
    • Disputes
      • Employment
      • Court, Tribunals and Arbitrations
      • Estates & Wills
      • Divorce & Separation
      • Insurance
      • Family
      • Company & Shareholding
      • Debt Collection
      • Construction
    • Trusts & Asset Planning
      • Wills & Enduring Powers of Attorney
      • Estates
      • Succession Planning
    • Charities/For Purpose Organisations
      • Incorporated Societies: Information Hub
      • Charities: Information Hub & Healthchecks
      • Governance Essentials
      • Faith Based Groups: Information Hub
      • Impact Investing: Information Hub
      • Hybrid Solutions: Charity/Business
      • Not for Profits
      • Churches
      • Sports Groups
      • Social Enterprises/Impact Companies
      • Community Groups
    • Migrants
    • Immigration
      • Work Visas
      • Family Visas
      • Skilled Migrants
      • Business and Investment Visas
      • Potentially Prejudicial Information
      • Employer Assistance
      • Overseas Investment
  • Resources
    • Guides
      • Capital Raising Guide
      • Resources for the Incorporated Societies Act 2022
      • Doing Business In New Zealand
      • Start Ups Legal Toolkit
      • Buying & Selling Property
      • Charities In New Zealand
      • Social Enterprises in New Zealand Handbook
      • Family Trusts
      • Death & Estates
      • Churches Handbook
    • Articles
      • Heat of the moment resignations – do employees need to be given a chance to cool off?
      • The new Incorporated Societies Act 2022: When will the new Act affect my Society?
      • Racial Harassment in the Workplace
      • Built up annual leave – does an employee have to use it?
      • Resources for the Incorporated Societies Act 2022
      • When can a Trustee delegate their powers?
      • Buying your first home: Key issues (a practical guide from a first home buyer)
      • The new Incorporated Societies Act 2022: What it means for your Incorporated Society
      • The Addington Farm: A case study in setting up a Charity
      • The Bright-Line Test
      • Funds that advance charity: How do they work? 
      • What is a LIM?
      • Charity Founders’ Ongoing Relationship With The Charity They Start: Key points to know
    • Blog
    • Templates
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Terms and Conditions Including Software
      • Non-Disclosure Agreement – One Way
      • Non-Disclosure Agreement – Two Way
      • Independent Contractors Agreement
      • Shareholders’ Resolutions – Written resolution
      • Share Transfer
      • Incorporation – First Shareholder Resolutions
      • Incorporation – First Directors’ Resolutions
    • Videos
      • COVID-19 and Commercial Leases
      • Force Majeure” clauses in Contracts and COVID-19
      • Property sale and purchases and COVID-19
      • Seeds Podcast
  • Careers
  • Contact
    • Healthcheck
  • Pay Online
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Methamphetamine in Properties: What you need to know if you own a property

Property

The media has been reporting about the increased use of Methamphetamine.  This article outlines how it could affect you!

Methamphetamine is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system.  Commonly known as P, Meth, Chalk, Ice or Crystal, it takes the form of a white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol.  Is a Class A controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1978, which means it attracts the highest penalties for manufacture, trafficking, sale and use.

How is Methamphetamine Produced?

Meth is manufactured in secret drug laboratories, known as “clan labs”, which can be found throughout New Zealand in houses, garages, outbuildings, apartments, baches and motor vehicles.

Meth is a crystal that vaporises when heated, eg smoking.  Its vapour sticks to surfaces and reforms in crystals.  Should you come into contact with these surfaces, you can ingest the meth through skin.

Short term effects of Meth include rashes, headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, burning to eyes, skin, mouth and nose.

Long term effects include cancer, brain-kidney & liver damage, miscarriages and birth defects.  Children are at a higher risk as they are closer to the ground and tend to touch surfaces and then suck their fingers.

Every one kilo of Meth made produces five times the amount of waste.  Indications of Meth waste include staining on grass and yellow staining found near drains.

Issues that can arise once Methamphetamine has contaminated a property

Insurance:        Quite often your insurance cover will not cover the full costs to decontaminate a property.  Statistics released in 2015 indicated that the average insurance pay-out to decontaminate a property was $30,000.00.

Police:             Once Meth has been identified at a property and police are notified, this is recorded on the LIM, even if the property is later decontaminated.

Banks:              Lenders do not always have a clear understanding when it comes to Meth contamination in properties and the consequences of the decline in the property valuations.  If multiple properties are owned, then this can affect the loan to value restrictions (“LVR”), and the lender may request additional funds to be repaid to fall within the LVR rules.

Where are the majority of Methamphetamine Contaminated Properties?

The majority of affected properties are in the North Island, however, it is important to note that only houses which are tested are included in the statistics.

Statistics obtained from testing properties in the North Island show that 1 in 3 properties were contaminated.

Appearances can be deceiving.  You cannot look at a property (or its occupants) and simply assume it is not contaminated. Upmarket properties are just as susceptible to contamination as Housing New Zealand properties or rentals.  An example given at a recent seminar was of an agent giving open homes – every time they attended the property they felt dizzy and light headed, but didn’t think anything of it.  The property was later found to be contaminated.

How you can protect yourself?

Become educated.  Be aware of the issue.  You should be asking yourself “how have you satisfied yourself this property does not have a problem with meth residues?”

If you are presenting an offer to purchase a property, then advise the agent (if one is involved) that you would like an additional clause included, making the contract subject to a satisfactory meth test.

You should ensure that all Meth testing is lab based testing of samples rather than kit tests if you want to avoid Meth affected properties.  Other things to look for:

  • Ownership history of the property.
  • The state of the property from the outside.
  • The state of the property from the inside.
  • How you feel when in/after you have been in the property.

Insurance

For the year 2014/2015 insurance companies had paid out an approximate amount of $20,000,000.00 for Meth contaminated properties.

For the 2015/2016 year insurance companies paid out close to $50,000,000.00 to deal with contamination, a massive increase in one year!

There have been suggestions that insurance companies might limit insurance cover for Meth related claims given the increase in claims.

It is important to note that insurance claims will not cover loss of property value and may not cover all soft furnishings.

Protecting existing assets

If you own rental properties, it is important that regular checks are completed to reduce the risk of contamination and also to ensure that your insurance policy will not be invalid.  In many policies this is a specific requirement.
It is suggested that a “MethMinder” be installed in rental properties.  This is a detection and monitoring system, developed and designed in NZ, that can detect if your property is being used to manufacture methamphetamine.  It is similar in size to a smoke alarm and is visible to tenants.  It is a stand-alone self-powered solution which communicates via the national wifi digital cell network, is fitted with multiple tamper sensors and a control room is notified (silently) if interfered with.  Tenants should be informed from the outset of the device, together with consequences and charges they will face if they tamper with the device.  The alarm activation notifies the nominated contact and possibly the police if required – hopefully this will deter tenants!  Costs start at $49.95 per month (2016) and more details can be found at http://www.methminder.co.nz/faq/.
Conclusion – always undertake due diligence before proceeding!

https://www.parryfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/plant-2401283_1920.jpg 1276 1920 Leigh Gray https://www.parryfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Parry-Field-Lawyers-Logo.png Leigh Gray2016-10-19 19:54:062020-06-12 16:56:52Methamphetamine in Properties: What you need to know if you own a property

Christchurch CBD

PHONE: +64 3 348 8480
FAX: +64 3 348 6305

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
Level 1, 60 Cashel Street
Christchurch 8013, New Zealand

POSTAL ADDRESS:
PO Box 744
Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand

Christchurch

PHONE: +64 3 348 8480
FAX: +64 3 348 6305

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
1 Rimu Street, Riccarton,
Christchurch 8041, New Zealand

POSTAL ADDRESS:
PO Box 8020, Riccarton,
Christchurch, 8440, New Zealand

Rolleston

PHONE: +64 3 348 8480
FAX: +64 3 348 6305

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
Level 1, 80 Rolleston Drive,
Rolleston, 7614, New Zealand

POSTAL ADDRESS:
PO Box 8020, Riccarton,
Christchurch, 8440, New Zealand

Hokitika

PHONE: +64 3 755 8673
FAX: +64 3 755 8073

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
26 Weld Street,
Hokitika 7810, New Zealand

POSTAL ADDRESS:
PO Box 44,
Hokitika 7842, New Zealand

Parry Field Charitable Foundation

Parry Field charitable members of NZ LAw, Global Cross Legal and SCLA

© Copyright – Parry Field Lawyers     |     Privacy Policy

Reflections on Canterbury Tech 2016: Disruption and LawyersDigital Disruption – How it affects both law firms and clients. Singing...
Scroll to top
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Email