The sticky situation legal cannabis has put homeowners, renters and realtors in
65% of landlords would consider lowering rent for tenants who do not smoke cannabis.
Under the Cannabis Act, Canadians will be able to smoke, vape and munch on marijuana Wednesday. We can also cultivate up to four plants at home for personal use. This could mean more of your neighbours will be sporting green thumbs now. That could be problematic for our housing market.
Marijuana plants grow in humidity and light. Would you be OK with buying a home if you knew someone grew four marijuana plants inside?
Ontario Realtors launch campaign to drum up support and raise awareness about changes
How confident would you be that the previous owner complied with Ontario fire code? paid for professional plumbing? building or electrical? How would you know? Well, you may not. That’s why the Ontario Real Estate Association are lobbying the Province for more regulations. OREA are worried that even more sellers will try to hide or mask the fact the property was used to grow marijuana.
The Legal Sticky-icky
Former Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak is now the CEO for the Ontario Real Estate Association. Hudak says Ontario Realtors are disappointed the federal government rejected the Senate recommendation that would have allowed provinces to ban home growth of cannabis.
Related: Legal Weed Wednesday: What You Need To Know
Hudak says “despite the federal government’s move to legalize cannabis, OREA Realtors are concerned that illegal large scale cannabis grow operations in residential properties will continue to be a problem in Ontario neighbourhoods. In a statement, Hudak says OREA will continue to work with Premier Doug Ford “to address Realtor concerns and ensure we protect Ontario homes and families.”
9 Signs You Bought a Former Grow-Op
- Chunks of brickwork on the exterior that have been replaced.
- Foundations and concrete walls cored or breached to get wiring around the hydro meter.
- Modified ductwork that doesn’t seem to make sense. Circular holes in floor joists or roof trusses from venting (look for holes that have been patched).
- Brown Stains in soffits, created by external venting, or brand-new soffits.
- Stains on basement floors caused by containers that set unmoved for long periods of time, or stains in laundry tubs.
- Modified wiring and electrical panel.
- Sometimes, live wires can still be in the insulation.
- New plumbing for water supply and drains.
- Warped/rotted wooden structures due to excessive moisture.
Getting high in a high rise
Under Bill C-45, a hazy area remains for renters and shared, apartment and condo dwellers. People living in ‘owned’ detached homes live outside of the control of condo boards and rental management companies – some of which are fighting for clear rules around consumption in shared spaces and buildings.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]65% of landlords say they would consider lowering rent for tenants who do not smoke cannabis.[/perfectpullquote]
According to the data from a new poll by Zoocasa, “the majority of Canadians aren’t in favour of condo or apartment consumption, with 61% of all respondents disagreeing residents should be able to smoke cannabis within their units, and 64% believing boards and property managers should be able to ban the drug’s use in residents’ units.”
Additional Stats from Zoocasa poll
- 57% of homeowners feel that cultivating even a legal amount of cannabis inside a home will negatively impact the home’s resale value; 26% disagree, while 18% are neutral.
- Of homeowners who agree home cultivation would harm home values, only 6% would take the risk of doing so. However, of the of respondents who rent and indicated they felt home cultivation would negatively impact values, 19% said they would still consider home cultivation.
- 64% of respondents who indicated they are homeowners believe smoking cannabis inside the home will devalue it; 21% of respondents disagree, while 15% are neutral.
- In contrast, 46% of respondents who indicated they are renters agree smoking cannabis would devalue their unit; 33% disagree, while 20% are neutral.
- 15% of all respondents indicated they would consider home cannabis cultivation.
- Millennials are demographically least likely to consider home cultivation stigmatizing, with only 38% indicating that a legal amount of cannabis grown in a home would reduce their desire to buy that property, compared to 58% of Gen Xers and 59% of Boomers.
