What Meth Contamination Records Should New Zealand Landlords Keep in 2026?

Part of the Rental Rule Changes Watch 2026 series.

This guide is specific to New Zealand residential tenancies. It uses Tenancy Services guidance and the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, reviewed on 13 July 2026.

It does not cover Australian state or territory tenancy law. For Australian rental compliance files, start with Australia State-by-State Rental Compliance Comparison 2026.

What Meth Contamination Records Should New Zealand Landlords Keep?

Keep the documents that let someone reconstruct the testing, disclosure, decontamination, and tenancy decision without guessing.

The core New Zealand meth contamination record set is:

Tenancy Services announced that the new methamphetamine contamination rules came into force on 16 April 2026. Those rules introduced defined contamination thresholds, testing standards, and decontamination processes for rental homes.

What Do the 15 and 30 Microgram Thresholds Mean?

Tenancy Services’ meth contamination guidance, reviewed on 13 July 2026, says a New Zealand rental property is contaminated if any part has meth residue levels above 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres. The affected parts must be decontaminated until they are at or below that level.

The same guidance says contamination is determined on a room-by-room basis. If one bedroom is above the 15 microgram threshold and the kitchen is below it, the bedroom is the part that needs decontamination.

The higher threshold is a tenancy outcome threshold. Tenancy Services says a property is uninhabitable if any part tests above 30 micrograms per 100 square centimetres. If that level is not limited to only a remote and inconsequential part of the property, the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 pathway allows a landlord who is not at fault to give 7 days notice and a tenant who is not at fault to give 2 days notice.

If the only affected area is remote and inconsequential, Tenancy Services says the rent must reduce to reflect the loss of access, neither party can immediately end the tenancy on that basis, and either party may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to request termination.

For the property file, record:

1. each room or area tested
2. each result
3. whether the result is at or below 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres
4. whether any result is above 30 micrograms per 100 square centimetres
5. whether an affected area is remote and inconsequential
6. rent reduction, termination, or Tribunal decision records

Do not store only a pass-or-fail summary. The room-by-room result matters.

Screening Assessment Versus Detailed Testing

Tenancy Services says a screening assessment detects the presence of meth residue and shows whether detailed testing is needed. For a screening assessment to be valid, it must use an approved testing method and follow the method instructions correctly.

A screening assessment can be carried out by any person. But if a landlord carries out screening during a tenancy, the landlord still needs the correct entry notice before entering and must give existing tenants the test results within 7 days after receiving them.

Detailed testing has a narrower role. Tenancy Services says detailed testing confirms how much meth contamination is present, where it is located, and whether decontamination is needed. A landlord is required to arrange detailed testing if Police or a local council notifies them that meth was likely manufactured on the property, or if a valid screening assessment shows contamination above 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres and the landlord is made aware of the result.

Keep these distinctions clear:

This is where source-linked property memory helps: the result, invoice, tenant notice, and follow-up test should live in one event timeline, not four disconnected folders.

Tenant Notice and Result Disclosure

Meth testing often requires entry. That makes the testing record overlap with New Zealand landlord entry notice records.

Tenancy Services’ meth guidance says that where there are existing tenants, landlords must provide the correct notice before they or their contractors enter the property. It also says landlords must provide test results to existing tenants within 7 days after receiving them, whether the landlord carried out a screening assessment or detailed testing.

For each test, keep:

• entry notice and service proof
• test date and time
• name of the person or provider entering
• sampling method and locations
• report received date
• tenant result disclosure date
• copy of the result disclosure sent to the tenant
• tenant response or dispute record

If the file does not show when the landlord received the report, the 7-day disclosure proof is harder to verify.

Decontamination and Post-Decontamination Testing

Tenancy Services’ testing and decontamination standards, last updated on 16 April 2026, says detailed testing must be carried out by qualified professionals and those professionals must not be the same people who carry out decontamination for the same property.

For decontamination, Tenancy Services says a landlord may carry out the work or engage another person to do it. If the landlord pays a contractor to decontaminate the property, that contractor must be separate from anyone carrying out screening assessment or detailed testing for the same property.

After decontamination, Tenancy Services says a qualified professional must carry out detailed testing again, and that person must not be the same person who carried out the decontamination. If meth residue levels are still above 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres, further decontamination and detailed testing need to happen.

The practical record set is:

1. decontamination scope by room or area
2. who did the work
3. independence check where a paid contractor is used
4. safety precautions and access arrangements
5. disposal record for contaminated soft furnishings, if relevant
6. invoice or work completion note
7. post-decontamination detailed testing report
8. any further decontamination rounds
9. final tenant update or reletting note

Do not rely on a contractor invoice alone. The post-decontamination detailed testing result is the document that shows whether the property has been brought back to the maximum acceptable level.

When Does the Tenancy Record Change?

The tenancy response depends on the result.

If a property is contaminated above 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres, Tenancy Services says the affected parts must be decontaminated to 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres or less. If the property is tenanted, keep written discussion records about access, relocation if needed, rent reduction where relevant, personal goods, decontamination timing, and result disclosure.

If a result is above 30 micrograms per 100 square centimetres, the file needs the extra uninhabitable-property analysis:

• exact location of the result
• whether the affected part is remote and inconsequential
• whether the landlord or tenant caused the contamination
• rent reduction calculation if only a remote and inconsequential part is affected
• termination notice if the statutory pathway is used
• Tenancy Tribunal application or order if termination is disputed or needs an order

For broader dispute evidence, read What Records Do New Zealand Landlords Need for Rent Arrears in 2026?. The subject is different, but the same timeline discipline applies.

Practical Filing Pattern

For each New Zealand rental property, keep a meth-contamination folder with:

1. testing-trigger-and-risk-notes
2. entry-notices-and-service-proof
3. screening-assessments
4. detailed-testing-reports
5. tenant-result-disclosures
6. decontamination-work-records
7. post-decontamination-testing
8. rent-reduction-or-relocation-records
9. termination-or-tribunal-records
10. insurance-and-cost-recovery

Name files by date, property, room or area, and stage. A report called meth-test-final.pdf is less useful than a file that says which property, which room, which test stage, and which date it covers.

Related Proppi Guides

• New Zealand Landlord Compliance Checklist 2026
• When Can a New Zealand Landlord Enter a Rental Property in 2026?
• Meth contamination (New Zealand)
• Residential Tenancies Act 1986
• Property Document Types: New Zealand Landlord Reference

Source Note

This article is specific to New Zealand. It relies on Tenancy Services meth contamination guidance, Tenancy Services testing and decontamination standards last updated on 16 April 2026, Tenancy Services’ 16 April 2026 news item, the Residential Tenancies (Managing Methamphetamine Contamination) Regulations 2026, and the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. It is general information for document organisation, not legal, health, or remediation advice.

Last reviewed: 13 July 2026. Confirm the current position with Tenancy Services, the current New Zealand legislation, or a qualified adviser before entering a rental property for testing, issuing a termination notice, or allocating decontamination costs.

The Short Version

1. New Zealand meth contamination records should show the reason to test, lawful entry, testing method, result, tenant disclosure, decontamination, retesting, and tenancy outcome.
2. Above 15 micrograms per 100 square centimetres means the affected part is contaminated and must be decontaminated to that level or below.
3. Above 30 micrograms per 100 square centimetres means the property is uninhabitable unless the affected part is only remote and inconsequential.
4. Existing tenants must receive test results within 7 days after the landlord receives them.
5. Detailed testing and post-decontamination testing need a qualified professional who is separate from the decontamination work.