These regulations, first announced in October 2025, are now Gazetted and make it clearer when a property is considered contaminated with methamphetamine, when a property is considered uninhabitable and what to do when contamination is found.

The new regulations set out:

• the maximum acceptable level of methamphetamine residue
• the requirement that, if methamphetamine residue levels are over 15µg/100cm2, the contaminated area or space in the property must be decontaminated
• if methamphetamine residue levels are above 30µg/100cm2, landlords and tenants will have the option of ending the tenancy
• how testing and decontamination needs to happen
• what responsibilities landlords have for managing methamphetamine contamination
• how to deal with goods abandoned by tenants on contaminated properties.

Guidance to support the sector will be available on the Tenancy Services website at a later date.

Read more about the regulations on the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development website.

Regulation of Methamphetamine Contamination in Rental Housing — Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (external link)

Back to News