Ice smoking tenants contaminating Australian rental properties

Unsuspecting Aussie homeowners’ properties are so badly contaminated with ice that it’s forced them to spend a fortune to repair them. Watch video.

Exclusive: An ice time bomb is about to explode with unsuspecting homeowners discovering their properties are so badly contaminated with the drug they require hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs to stop people getting sick.

As many as 275,000 people in Australia smoke ice, but most insurance does not cover damage caused by them smoking the drug indoors.

Some unsuspecting homeowners are only finding out their properties are riddled with methamphetamine residue after they sign on for their mortgage.

Tenants have been forced to rush young children to hospital with breathing problems after moving into contaminated houses and landlords have been left to foot the bill.

Repair bills for cleaning properties and repairing damage can be more than $120,000, while some homeowners plan to demolish properties riddled with the invisible contamination.

Most insurance companies only pay out if a home has been used as a meth lab, rather than by someone smoking the drug for personal use.

Connie Cicchini's rental in Brisbane has suffered $360k damage from meth user tenants. Picture: Matthew Poon.

Flinders University’s Dr Jackie Wright has been investigating ice contamination for a decade. “There’s good evidence that there are negative health effects from living in properties where meth use has occurred,” Dr Wright said.

“We’ve seen that in hair analysis. When people move out of those properties we have seen the effects go away.”

Dr Wright said many groups put the issue of meth use in homes in the too hard basket.

“It’s tricky for landlords, it’s tricky for tenants but it’s also a problem for people who buy homes then find they are contaminated,” she said.

“Some of the homes testing positive to contamination are multimillion homes, it’s not in lower socio-economic areas.”

Dr Jackie Wright, a public health scientist who has seen the worst of ice contamination. Picture Craig Hughes

Alice Miers, business development manager at Belle Property in Ascot, Queensland, said meth contamination was an issue for tenants and landlords.

“We had a tenant who was with a different agency come to us because her three year old son was put in hospital when they moved into a contaminated house,” Ms Miers said.

“They had only been in the place a week when he became sick.

“We were able to find them a new property quickly.”

Cheaper rapid tests are now available to check if a property was contaminated before more expensive testing was needed.

EBM RentCover offers landlord’s insurance that pays out up to $70,000 for meth contamination.

“The average claim payout for meth labs was $61,645.98, while the average claim payout for meth contamination was $36,440.17,” the company said.

“If a rental has been used to manufacture illicit drugs like methamphetamine, it takes more than some spray and wipe and a vacuum to make it safe to live in again as contaminated homes can pose serious health risks.”

Decontamination often requires plaster walls, carpets and kitchens to be ripped out so decontamination crews can use special cleaning agents to clear away the ice residue.

Yvonne Lacey became sick when she moved into a home that was contaminated by meth residue. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Decon Solutions Australia’s Shona Wright said contamination from meth use was becoming a “huge problem”.

“When we started it was just to service the finance industry (banks and insurance companies), we weren’t designed for the private market. Now we have had to expand because it has become a big problem,” Ms Wright said.

“We need regulation, every day we’re campaigning for regulation, the government needs to fix this.”

Yvonne Lacey had to move out of her meth contaminated rental property in Mannum, near the Murray River in South Australia, after becoming sick within a week.

The 70-year-old had to throw out furniture because it too became contaminated.

“Now we’ve got a $20 fridge and two uncomfortable lounge chairs that I had to get out of storage, this has cost me $50,000,” she said.

“There is just no help. We can’t get a rental now, we’re lucky we’ve been helped by friends. There’s such a stigma.”

HOW TO TEST FOR ICE CONTAMINATION

Testing for ice contamination has become cheaper, with instant tests available for about $100.

Swabs can be taken from surfaces and checked for methamphetamine residue, which is invisible to the naked eye.

Any areas that record levels above 0.5 micrograms per 100 square centimetres are considered unsafe by Australian standards.

The rapid tests are then referred on to specialist testing companies for further checks.

Daniel Watts, of Rapid Building Inspections, said his company was doing 150 meth tests per month.

“We do them as part of regular building inspections – 16 per cent of properties are coming back positive,” he said.

Most of the homes were only being tested as precaution, not because they were suspected of being lived in by drug users.

David Pie, of Meth Alerts Australia, said: “This is going to be the biggest issue the real estate industry has ever dealtwith. Real estate agents have a duty of care to landlords and to their tenants.”

HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR HOUSE IS CONTAMINATED

■ Ice residue is invisible, with testing the only guaranteed way to confirm contamination

■Rapid tests cost around $100 and are recommended before moving into a rental or buying a home

■ Swabs can be taken from surfaces and checked for methamphetamine residue.

■Any areas that record levels above 0.5 micrograms per 100 square centimetres are considered unsafe by Australian standards.

■ The rapid tests are then referred on to specialist testing companies for further checks.

Suspicions that a home may be used as a drug den include:

■ Rent paid in cash

■ Tenants making it difficult for landlords to access property

■ Neighbours reporting visitors at odd hours

■ Windows blacked out or curtains always drawn

■ Security cameras