Landlords push for permission to limit pot use
Apartment owners concerned about moisture, odour in rentals once weed is legal
Canadians will soon be able add marijuana to their collection of household herbs and that’s a nightmare for the country’s landlords.
With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to legalize recreational weed in July, apartment owners are concerned about safety and potential damage to their buildings if tenants grow plants and smoke up in their units. Landlords are lobbying provincial governments for legislation that would ban marijuana use in rental units or allow them to add restrictions to lease agreements.
“We’re hammering away at this pretty tirelessly,” said David Hutniak, chief executive officer of Landlord BC, a housing-industry group in B.C. “Can you imagine you’re living in a 100-unit apartment, and in theory, there could be 100 grow-ops in that thing? I mean, that’s ridiculous.”
Cannabis stocks have jumped and businesses are primed to cash in on Canada’s long-awaited pot party. Yet federal regulations on recreational use of the drug in the country, where medical marijuana has been legal since 2001, are still being worked out. Proposals include allowing people to smoke in private residences and to grow as many as four plants per rental unit. Provinces have the right to set rules in their own jurisdictions, including age limits for possession of weed and whether landlords can restrict use on their properties.
One reason landlords don’t want tenants lighting up is that many rental buildings are fairly old, so “smoke and smells are easily transmitted through hallways between units” and can disturb others who don’t want to partake, said John Dickie, Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations president. “It’s going to be quite a problem for people.”
Growing pot requires certain humidity levels that may damage apartment walls, and the electrical wires required to run the operation can start fires, according to Hutniak. Budding plants also give off a pungent aroma that can seep through door cracks. Provincial laws Provinces for the most part are still working out rules for recreational pot. Some seem more inclined to consider the landlords’ concerns than others. A representative for B.C.’s government said regulating weed consumption and cultivation are among key policy areas the province is considering. Ontario said it has no plans to change its rentalhousing legislation, which gives tenants the right to “reasonable enjoyment” of their homes, yet allows for eviction if they cause damage. Closet grow-op The landlords’ concerns sound a little far-fetched to Connor Brink, who said he grew marijuana in the closet of his one-time Montreal apartment with no issues. The small space contained any smells, and there was no damage from humidity, even though the plants needed daily misting, said Brink, 24. He said the 400-watt light he used caused no damage in his apartment and would be decent for cultivating four plants — more than enough marijuana, in his view, for a recreational grower.
“There’s a lot of things that these plants need attention with, and it’s really sensitive,” he said. “So just being able to tap out all those issues for maintenance for four plants, nobody’s going to want to grow more than that.”
For a glimpse at their future, Canada’s landlords need only look toward the U.S., where recreational weed has been legalized in nine states plus the District of Columbia. Canadian landlords are “cautiously optimistic” that strict pot regulations will prevail, said Dickie of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations.
Even Brink is at least partly on the same page as the landlords. While he had no problems with his Montreal grow-op, and the closet looked pristine after cleaning, he said he was terrified of accidentally pouring water over the electrical wire.
“You could potentially cause a fire or short-circuit the whole grid in your building,” he said. “It never happened to me, but I was always afraid that could happen. And that’s the thing, right? How can you determine, as a landlord, who’s going to be a vigilant pot grower?”