12 June 2025
Dan Tasman
[FYI request #30772 email]
Dear Mr Tasman
Thank you for your request of 18 April 2025 to Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities for
information under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act) relating to methamphetamine
in Northland. I apologise for the delay in my response.
I have answered your individual questions below.
…copies of any internal reports, policies, or briefing papers prepared by or for
Kāinga Ora since 1 January 2022 that relate to methamphetamine use in state
housing in Northland. This includes any material discussing contamination, tenant
wellbeing, property damage, or public safety concerns linked to methamphetamine
use or production in Kāinga Ora properties.
Kāinga Ora manages issues relating to methamphetamine at its properties at a national
level, and therefore there are no specific internal reports, briefings, or policies that relate
to methamphetamine in Northland. This part of your request is therefore declined under
section 18(e) of the Act as,
‘…the document alleged to contain the information requested
does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.’
However, to give you a general understanding about our approach, I have attached a
copy of
POL-346 Policy for managing methamphetamine contamination in Kāinga Ora-
managed properties. You can also find more information on the Kāinga Ora website at
https:/ kaingaora.govt.nz/en_NZ/tenants-and-communities/our-tenants-health-and-
safety/managing-methamphetamine-contamination-in-our-homes/.
…data on the number of Kainga Ora properties in Northland that have been tested
for methamphetamine since 2022, how many of those returned positive results, and
the subsequent actions taken (e.g. remediation, relocation, legal proceedings, or
support services provided to affected tenants). Please provide this data broken
down by year and general location (e.g. by town or region).
Kāinga Ora records this information by region. The below table shows the number of
Kāinga Ora properties in Northland that were tested for methamphetamine. Testing may
be due to a credible suspicion of methamphetamine activity, or for legal obligations at the
end of a private lease. This does not include additional tests completed after a property
has been decontaminated.
Initial methamphetamine tests carried out at Kāinga Ora properties in Northland
Financial year
Properties tested
2022/23
30
2023/24
5
2024/25*
5
Total
40
*as at 31 March 2025
Where test results confirm meth contamination above 15µg/100cm2 for methamphetamine
use, this wil trigger the need for decontamination of affected areas at the property. For
leased properties, in accordance with lease agreements we wil decontaminate where
tests results confirm meth contamination above 1.5µg/100cm2.
The number of Kāinga Ora properties that have undergone chemical decontamination is
set out in the below table.
Decontaminated Kāinga Ora properties in Northland
Financial year
Properties
2022/23
10
2023/24
4
2024/25*
1
Total
15
*as at 31 March 2025
In addition, I would like to receive details of any partnerships, contracts, or referral
pathways in place between Kāinga Ora and health or social service providers—
such as Te Whatu Ora, local iwi authorities, addiction support services, or NGOs -
aimed at supporting tenants affected by methamphetamine use. Please include the
names of any programmes, the agencies involved, and any outcome data or
evaluations, where available.
Kāinga Ora is first and foremost a landlord, not a social service agency. This means that
we operate under a referrals model – working with tenants to support them to access
social services. Kāinga Ora plays a role in guiding customers to specialised providers—
especially when wellbeing issues affect tenancies.
Kāinga Ora follows a graduated support model, of ering varying levels of assistance
based on the impact on the tenant’s housing stability. Staff can use a variety of resources
for connecting with service providers, for example the Ministry of Social Development’s
Family Services Directory at
https://www.familyservices.govt.nz/directory/.
We will also refer tenants to providers funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development under its Sustaining Tenancies service. You can find a list of these
providers at
https://www.hud.govt.nz/our-work/sustaining-tenancies.
Kāinga Ora also lists several national support services customers can access on its
website at
https:/ kaingaora.govt.nz/en_NZ/tenants-and-communities/our-tenants-health-
and-safety/national-support-services/.
Kāinga Ora does not have any specific partnerships, contracts, referral pathways,
outcome data or evaluations aimed at supporting tenants affected by methamphetamine
use in Northland. Therefore, this part of your request is declined under section 18(e) of the
Act as the documents do not exist.
If Kainga Ora has made any submissions, formal advice, or inter-agency
correspondence to other government departments (such as the Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, or the Ministry of Social Development)
regarding the impact of methamphetamine use in public housing in Northland, I
would also like to request copies of that material.
Kāinga Ora does not hold any submissions, formal advice, or inter-agency
correspondence regarding methamphetamine use in Northland. This part of your request
is therefore declined under section 18(e) of the Act as the documents requested do not
exist.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
response. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
https:/ www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phone on
0800 802 602.
Please note that Kāinga Ora proactively releases our responses to official information
requests where possible. Our response to your request may be published at
https:/ kaingaora.govt.nz/publications/official-information-requests/ with your personal
information removed.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Kelly
Manager Government Services
