Meth lab ‘nightmare’: Landlord in debt after tenant ‘destroys’ house

Friday, 2 May 2025

A landlord whose tenant “destroyed” her property by allowing it to be used as a meth lab said it has been a “nightmare” trying to recover the debt.

Andria Rosemarie Hill was ordered to pay her landlord $67,470 for causing damages requiring the Glenfield, Auckland property be “stripped down and built up again to make it habitable”.

According to the recent Tenancy Tribunal ruling, police discovered a meth lab at the property in 2023.

“Significant methamphetamine contamination” was recorded at the property, about 1600 times higher than what the Institute of Environmental Science and Research deemed safe for living conditions - 15 micrograms of meth per 100 square metres of surface.

The landlord, who Stuff agreed not to name, said Hill “destroyed the house totally”.

She understood Hill’s associates were responsible for the bulk of the drug operation.

“They made a lab inside the kitchen… The drugs were everywhere.

“The suffering they bring us was just [a] nightmare [sic].”

Hill has since pleaded guilty to allowing the property to be used to manufacture meth and to possessing equipment and materials used to make the class A drug. She was sentenced to 12 months intensive supervision.

Others involved in the operation remain before the courts.

The landlord said she spent more than $100k to decontaminate and refurbish the property, before selling it in 2024 for $1.3 million. Despite this, the ordeal had left her with “lots of debt”.

She had been left to recover the debt from Hill, but had been unable to contact her.

“Nobody knows where she is… We can’t get her to [take] any responsibility for anything.

“I got a huge debt to pay off. I’m stressed every day.”

Making matters worse, the landlord’s property insurance had lapsed without her knowledge, meaning she was unable to make a claim.

“You buy [insurance] for so many years, and when it lapses, you just lose everything.”

Peter Lewis, a landlord of 34 years and vice president of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation, said there was no law requiring landlords to have property insurance.

However, property owners were typically required to have insurance as a condition for their mortgage.

Speaking from his experience owning 13 rental properties, Lewis said there were terms and conditions that had to be satisfied before an insurer would be willing to pay for damages caused by a tenant.

It was important landlords let their insurer know their property is tenanted, as tenants were seen as higher risk compared to owner-occupiers.

Regular property inspections were vital - these were the landlord or property manager’s opportunity to look for signs of the property being used to make meth, usually indicated by “strange looking stains” on the ceilings or drug paraphernalia.

Lewis conducted meth testing at the start of every tenancy, and would ask the tenants to sign a form agreeing that the property was free of meth.

“It brings it to their notice that ‘hey, this guy’s onto it, he’s doing checks. I better be careful’.”

He also put a clause in every tenancy agreement that the tenants would be responsible for any debt collection costs, as while an order from the Tenancy Tribunal proved a tenant owed money, it was up to the landlord to recover it.

Debt collectors could charge thousands for their services, he said.

“A lot of people just give up.”

The landlord of the Glenfield property said she had suffered anxiety over Hill’s actions.

“I don’t want to be a landlord again.”

Stuff approached Hill for comment via her lawyer, but she could not be reached before deadline.