Couple stung by cleanup

An Invercargill couple who lost thousands of dollars in income after their rental home tested positive to methamphetamine feel frustrated and let down after revelations contamination levels would not have been a health risk.

A Government report this week showed there was no real risk to humans from third-hand exposure to houses where methamphetamine had been consumed.

This means tens of thousands of homes have been needlessly tested and cleaned at the cost of millions of dollars, with some demolished or left empty.

The Invercargill couple rented out their house to numer- ous tenants over a decade before putting it on the market in 2016.

However, the real estate agent rang soon after to say they had received an anonymous tip saying the house had been a ‘‘P house’’.

They were told to take it off the market and get it tested for methamphetamine.

They did so, and seven of the 10 rooms tested positive for meth use and above Ministry of Health safety guidelines.

They were told the levels were not high enough for it to have been a meth cook house, but it had been used to smoke meth in.

They got the house decontaminated, with the bill for cleaning and replacing soft furnishings, $90,000, paid for by their insurance company.

The house was given a ‘‘methamphetamine clearance certifi- The number of state homes sitting needlessly empty that Housing Minister Phil Twyford said would be put back into use. The maximum amount Housing New Zealand would save a year on meth testing. cate’’, and it eventually sold, but the couple lost a potential 12 months in rental payments while it was vacant.

The couple said they felt frustrated with the news the work was likely pointless, and it appeared the previous guidelines had not been researched properly.

She was relieved the insurance company had paid their renovation bill after the house tested positive for P.

‘‘If this [report] had come out at the time we would have cleaned it up and sold the house and we wouldn’t have lost a year’s rental income and I wouldn’t have so many grey hairs,’’ she said.

It would also have saved their insurance company about $100,000, she said.