As if private landlords don’t need another example of why they should get out of providing rental housing this should give them the incentive.  Meet the tenant from hell.

“A New Lynn landlord says methamphetamine-related damage by a tenant was so bad they had to take out a mortgage and delay their retirement to pay for the cleanup.

The tenant, Catherine Anderson, has now been ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to pay $11,050 to Bharti Budhia, the owner of the Golf Rd property.

The level of contamination in one of the rooms was six times higher than the new threshold recommended in a landmark report last year.”

Otago Daily Times

Good luck with getting reimbursement from his methamphetamine loving ex-tenant who is probably incapable of holding down a job.

The toxic effects of methamphetamine on the human body are numerous.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS:

Loss of appetite

Increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature

Dilation of pupils

Disturbed sleep patterns

Nausea

Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior

Hallucinations, hyperexcitability, irritability

Panic and psychosis

Convulsions, seizures and death from high doses

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain,

high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes and death

Liver, kidney and lung damage
Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed

Respiratory (breathing) problems if smoked

Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected

Malnutrition, weight loss
Severe tooth decay

Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion

Strong psychological dependence
Psychosis

Depression

Damage to the brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and epilepsy

Foundation for A Drug Free World

It will come as no surprise that neighbours witnessing the behaviour that accompanies methamphetamine use complained to the owner about the comings and goings on the property rented by Anderson. Budhia installed security cameras in the driveway before ending her tenancy.

“Police were able to identify individuals visiting the house in the footage. The guests and their vehicles had strong associations with meth use and manufacturing, the ruling said.

A police report presented at the tribunal hearing said, of those identified in the security footage, “one has since died of a drug overdose and a number of others are in prison”.

Another person who used the property as a bail address had since entered Odyssey house, a treatment centre for drug addiction.

After Budhia – who also lived on the property – raised concerns with Anderson, she ended the tenancy in September 2018.

Testing done that month found traces of methamphetamine were present in all rooms of the house. The kitchen had a reading of 99 mcg/100cm2 and a bedroom had a reading of 58 mcg/100cm2. That was well above the “acceptable” level of 15mcg recommended by former Chief Science Adviser Sir Peter Gluckman in a report last year. That report said a reading of higher than 30mcg was indicative – but not definite evidence – of a meth lab.”

No surprise that private rental housing providers are leaving the market, but what about properties managed by Housing New Zealand? What is this costing the taxpayer?

I am happily a New Zealander whose heritage shaped but does not define. Four generations ago my forebears left overcrowded, poverty ridden England, Ireland and Germany for better prospects here. They were...