Meth tests for state housing is criticised

At least 100 Taranaki homes could have been bought with the money Housing New Zealand has spent on fixing meth-infested houses in the past two years.

The state housing provider has forked out $72.9 million on testing and decontaminating state homes – but it has been almost toothless in its efforts to recoup the losses to taxpayers.

Of the 10 worst homes – some of which had cleanup bills in excess of $100,000 – Housing NZ has been able to pursue costs for only one, in Manukau, south Auckland. Even then, it was for only a fraction of the amount claimed.

The multimillion-dollar bill comes as drug experts express scepticism over the health risk from houses in which meth has been smoked, rather than manufactured.

NZ Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said HNZ treated each contaminated house as if it had been a meth lab, and the money spent was largely wasted as scientific advice said there was no real danger in a home where meth had been used, but not made.

He accused the meth testing and cleanup industry of running ‘‘New Zealand’s biggest scam’’, and believed HNZ would be better off trying to help its tenants with meth problems, rather than kicking them and their families out of homes.

Housing NZ, which released the figures in an Official Information Act response, said it sought compensation from tenants only in cases where it believed it could establish a breach of the tenancy agreement.

In its response, HNZ outlined the challenges in trying to recover costs associated with meth contamination.

The organisation only has 60 days to lodge a claim for compensation, using the address provided by the tenant.

‘‘This is problematic due to the time required to test, assess and remediate contaminated properties, and the difficulty establishing the location of tenants after they have vacated,’’ acting chief operating officer Neil Adams said.