‘We're not risking health for money’

It was just a little nagging feeling that led Waikato landlord Joanne to test her rental property between tenancies.

“We never thought it would be positive. Although we'd had to evict them for not paying rent, they had small children,” she says. “But then I saw something on Facebook and just got a feeling, so we did it.”

By the time the test came back — with a result four times the acceptable level — Joanne (last name redacted for legal reasons) had already given the house a coat of paint and found new tenants. “It was a total shock.” Now, the house is sitting empty while the family battles their insurer to pay for the clean-up, and Joanne is reluctant to tell the council about the issue because she thinks it will carry a long-term stigma.

“It could really affect the value of the property. The issue is, how long is that note going to stay on there? If we get a clear reading will it be removed?” she said.

“I do think it's fair it goes on the LIM but if it's remediated it should be able to be removed completely.”

Joanne says while the issue is partand-parcel of being a landlord, it is hard when she feels she's doing her best.

“We try to rent to families, or solo mums. There are landlords that would rent out a house like ours, landlords with no morals, but we've got it empty.

“I'm not going to put health at risk for the sake of money.”