Landlords should be allowed to ban pot smoking

It’s tough to imagine a situation where it would be fair for a landlord to change a tenant’s lease mid-term. But the impending legalization of pot consumption this summer is one.

Landlords are understandably concerned that recreational users may smoke weed in their units once it’s legal, leading to a deluge of complaints from other tenants when the fumes inevitably end up in their suites.

Not only would the second-hand marijuana smoke be an annoyance, parents would be rightly concerned that it will get into the lungs of their children.

It could also be expensive. According to one estimate, it can cost $5,000 to $6,000 to get the smell of weed out of an apartment.

So it’s no wonder Ontario landlords are asking the province to give them the right to open existing leases to ban marijuana from being smoked in their units.

Right now they have the right to do that (as they can forbid cigarette smoking), but because pot is illegal they haven’t bothered.

This isn’t a small issue. Fully a third of Canadians are renters.

John Dickie, president of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations, says he would like to see legislation that would impose an automatic ban on marijuana smoking in rental units unless the landlord and tenant agree otherwise.

That could be complicated, but however it is done this is one case where government should find a way to support landlords.

It’s true it puts recreational pot users who live in rental units in a bind. That’s because under rules announced in the fall, the province plans a ban on recreational pot consumption in public spaces and workplaces, allowing it only in private homes. (Medical marijuana will be permitted anywhere cigarette smoking is allowed.)

But that could be solved if the province permits designated outdoor smoking or vaping areas in multi-unit residences, a proposal it is currently seeking public feedback on.

Landlords could also set aside designated marijuana lounges with a separate ventilation system, while still banning the smoking of weed in their units.

Since pot smokers are a minority of the population, it only makes sense to protect the majority from marijuana fumes seeping into their homes.

The province should help landlords out on this issue – if only to protect most tenants.