Volume 2 - Issue 1 January 2019

IN THIS ISSUE     District Court Appeal    |    RTAB2   |    Training Seminars

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METH XPERT WELCOMES YOU TO 2019 Welcome back and Happy New Year to you all. We hope that your summer break has been great and that your 2019 is set up to be an amazing year for you! In this issue, The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill No.2, the District Court Appeal into the Government Report on Meth Testing and Meth Xpert Training Seminars to keep your team up to date and informed. Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill No.2 There are some big things happening in the Meth Testing Industry this year with Meth Testing set to become law.  The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill No.2 is set for its third Parliamentary reading when parliament commences in February.  This is forecast to become law early 2019. RTA Amendment Bill No.2 What does the RTA Bill No.2 mean for you and your clients?   Salient points from the coming law are below: It provides a lawful and legally enforceable way for a landlord to protect their assets from Methamphetamine Contamination and damage. Landlords will have a power of entry to their property in order to conduct contamination testing. Landlords will only be able to evict tenants if they have proof that contamination occurred during their tenancy. To establish proof, a pre-tenancy and then a post tenancy Methamphetamine Screening test ensures that the obligations of the law are met, along with insurance obligations. Landlords must also disclose to their tenants their insurance details. If a Landlord choose to not have any insurance cover, they must disclose to their tenant that they do not have any methamphetamine contamination insurance. They then have no recourse at any tenancy tribunal hearing to claim insurance for damage. Landlords are liable for a $4000 fine per offence and exemplary damages and back paid rent if providing an unlawful premises. If you're testing, some questions you should ask are: Has the testing company complied with the New Zealand Standards? Have they met the requirements for meth testing? Are they qualified to conduct testing? Have they gathered the evidence using correct techniques? Have they issued you with a report that complies with the standard? Is it usable in court? If you are unsure of the answer to one or more of these questions, then you may find the sampling companies evidence excluded or dismissed as they may have failed to comply the New Zealand Standards.  To ensure competence of testing and reporting that cannot be questioned in the future, use qualified companies whose methodology for testing and reports meet the law and are proven and accepted at the tribunal. A list of Accredited companies can be found here: Search Keyword: Methamphetamine   https://www.ianz.govt.nz/directory/ At this stage a list of NZQA Companies is not available, however, Meth Xpert NZ are both IANZ Accredited and NZQA Qualified Samplers.  It is anticipated that a list of NZQA Certified and IANZ Accredited companies will be available on the Methamphetamine Testing Industry Association (MTIANZ) website in the near future. District Court Appeal on Government Report The Prime Ministers Chief Science Advisors report into Methamphetamine Contamination is currently the subject of a district court appeal in relation to whether the report can be cited in law over the New Zealand Standard.  Note that the PMCSA report stated that levels of 15ug/100cm2 were safe to live in vs ESR's own report and the New Zealand Standards that set the level at 1.5ug/100cm2.  The New Zealand Standard NZS8510:2017 has undergone an independent QC review to determine its development process and that review announced that NZS8510:2017 has complied with the Standards Act 2015. Any changes suggested by this government to NZS8510:2017 must undergo the same rigorous process that developed the standards. We will keep you updated as we learn more about this. Training Seminars Meth Xpert offer training seminars to educate and inform you and your team about the risks associated with Methamphetamine Contamination.  We offer seminars on: Methamphetamine Awareness Methamphetamine Risk Management Decontamination Risk Management Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill No.2 If you would like to book a training session with us please click here. Click here to get your free tenancy tribunal ebook today! CLICK HERE TO CALL US NOW! 22 Vialou Lane Stonefields Auckland 1072 0800 746 473 0800 746 473 © 2016-2019 by MethXpertNZ Ltd Website by the Cadre Collective Consultants Ltd FOLLOW US Meth Xpert NZ Ltd 212a Newell Road Tamahere Hamilton 3283 0800 746 473