Booted out of ‘P rental’ for no reason
A Christchurch mother who was forced out of her rental property is frustrated by a government report that shows there are no health risks in living in a home where meth has been used.
Just last week Michelle Gilchrist was desperately searching for a place to live after her landlord kicked her out saying her home was contaminated with meth.
But according to Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford’s report, released on Tuesday, there’s no evidence that third-hand exposure to methamphetamine smoke causes adverse health effects.
Gilchrist said it was incredibly upsetting to hear as it contradicted everything she had been told in the past two weeks.
“I threw out beds, bedding, my baby’s clothing, all the [upholstered] furniture like I was advised to, thousands of dollars worth of stuff, and now to hear I didn’t need to is incredibly frustrating. It would have been nice to have had this clarity before my whole life was being flipped upside down.”
Gilchrist had called dozens of agencies seeking advice and no one seemed to know anything.
“I went to police, the council, Ministry of Health — I have a long list of people I called and all of them said similar things: you should probably get rid of fabrics and [upholstered] furniture.
“My kids didn’t present any symptoms but after hearing all of this
It would have been nice to have had this clarity before my whole life was being flipped upside down. Michelle Gilchrist
I didn’t want to take any risks.”
In a bid to claim compensation Gilchrist has a court date with her landlord next month.
Twyford said anxiety about meth contamination had led to the growth of a testing and remediation industry.
He said that pending Cabinet agreement, a public consultation document on meth regulations would be released later this year.