Posted By Ron Kramer on March 3, 2010

KSL News today, March 3, 2010, brought to light the fact that Utah Apartment Association is actively attempting to conceal from prospective renters, the fact that the apartment or house they may wish to rent is a former contaminated meth house. According to this story, letters were sent out by Paul Smith, executive director of the UAA, to meth decontamination businesses in Utah. In the letter, the specialists are told that they are to “comply” with the new Utah Code section 57-26-201(2)(a) that basically states that apartment owners do not have the obligation to report to the government, or Utah Dept. of Health, that the unit has been contaminated by meth users and/or manufacturers. This provision reads:

“If an owner’s or lessor’s real property is contaminated from the use, storage, or manufacture of methamphetamines, the owner or lessor may report the contaminated property to a government agency responsible for monitoring the decontamination process and documenting that the test results meet decontamination standards.”

The letter goes on to state that if the decontamination specialist wishes to be placed on a list of specialists that the 2500 member-strong UAA will endorse and/or use, that the decontamination expert needs to acknowledge in writing that they will “follow state law” by affirmatively NOT disclosing the existence of a unit’s contamination to the Utah Health Dept. without the landlord’s express permission. Failure to do so, according to the letter, will result in the vendor being black listed. According to the letter: “If you do not agree or fail to respond, we will place you on the list on vendors not recommended.”

So, does “following the law” under Utah Code 57-26-201(2)(a) mean that a decontamination specialist can only advise the Utah Dept. of Health of the existence of meth-contaminated property if the landlord agrees? The answer is: only under UAA’s twisted interpretation of the law.

Clearly under Utah law, decontamination specialists can advise whomever they want of the existence of a meth-contaminated property. In other words, they don’t need the property owner’s permission. Or, they can go along with the UAA coerced cover-up and become accessories in hiding the meth-use history of a property and in allowing unsuspecting persons to move into a house or unit that could very well turn out to be unfit for human habitation.

Ron Kramer is a Utah chemical poisoning lawyer with offices in Bountiful, Draper and Provo, Utah.

Categories: Boating Accident, Utah Chemical Poisoning
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