Meth contamination on the rise in state houses

  • 02/02/2016
Daryl Evans (Paul Henry)
Daryl Evans (Paul Henry)

Instances of methamphetamine contaminated state homes have jumped by more than 700 percent in the past 18 months, from just 28 in the year to June 2014, to 229 by June 2015.

Mangere Budgeting Services chief executive Darryl Evans joined Paul Henry to discuss what needs to be done to combat the problem.

State homes where the occupant is suspected of using methamphetamine or where it believed to be used as clandestine drug labs are the only properties currently tested.

Ministry of Health guidelines state that readings of 0.5 micrograms per 100cm squared or more means the property is contaminated and must be fixed.

It costs between $600 and $1800 to test whether a property has been contaminated by methamphetamine but making the house liveable again can cost up to $30,000.

Housing New Zealand spent more than $700,000 fixing contaminated homes in the 2014 financial year but costs soared to more than $2.3 million the following year.

Watch the video for the full interview.