Why do I need to do a baseline meth test?
The meth testing conversation has gone back and forth in NZ.
At first, everyone was told to test. Then, Peter Gluckman (Chief Science Adviser to New Zealand’s Prime Minister at the time) wrote a report. He basically found that testing wasn’t necessary most of the time.
But now it’s the insurers who want clearer evidence. This is where baseline testing comes in.
In most cases insurance companies want to establish when the meth contamination happened and (ideally) who was responsible.
If you can’t prove when the contamination occurred, then they often won’t pay out to fix it.
Without a baseline it’s harder to prove whether the damage happened last year, five years ago, or your most recent tenants.
If you can show through a baseline meth test that this tenancy caused the contamination, you may be able to:
- Claim on insurance, and
- Potentially recover costs from the tenant through the Tenancy Tribunal
Although every insurance policy is different, so check the fine print or talk to your adviser.
If you can’t prove which tenant caused the contamination, your insurer might still pay.
But it’s harder and you’ll be relying on circumstantial evidence like complaints, property damage, or tenant behaviour.
