Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jan 2018
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2018 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Peter Goffin
Page: A8

LANDLORDS SEEK RIGHT TO IMMEDIATELY BAN MARIJUANA USE IN RENTALS

Ontario landlords want the right to immediately ban the use of pot in
rental properties when recreational marijuana is legalized this
summer, arguing they should be allowed to change tenants' existing
leases to stop the drug from being consumed in their units.

Some marijuana users say, however, that the situation would leave
renters with few places to legally use weed, given the province's
already restrictive rules around the drug.

Under rules announced in the fall, the province is planning a ban on
recreational pot consumption in public spaces and workplaces, allowing
it only in private residences. Medical marijuana use will be permitted
anywhere that cigarette smoking is allowed, the legislation says.

Landlords will be able to spell out a ban on smoking marijuana in
rental units for new leases post-legalization - the same as they do
for tobacco use - but the province's tenancy laws make it illegal to
change a lease before it ends.

That means in some cases, until an existing lease runs out, landlords
would be unable to regulate marijuana use in their properties, said
John Dickie, president of the Canadian Federation of Apartment
Associations, adding that landlords are concerned about the impact a
spike in pot smoking will have on other tenants in rental properties.

"[The province is] not going to allow marijuana to be smoked in public
areas, so where the heck are people going to smoke marijuana? Well
they're going to do it in their apartments," he said. "The problem is,
just like when they smoke tobacco, the smell goes to neighbouring
apartments. Buildings are not hermetically sealed."

It can cost $5,000 to 6,000 to get the smell of marijuana smoke out of
apartment walls and floors, said Dan Henderson, president of the
DelSuites property-management firm in Toronto.

"It's not the stigma [of marijuana use], it's just the number of
expenses to maintain the unit and the complaints landlords receive
from the neighbours," said Mr. Henderson, whose company manages rental
units for approximately 2,000 landlords in the Greater Toronto Area.

Mr. Dickie and Mr. Henderson both argue Ontario landlords should be
allowed to immediately prohibit tenants from smoking marijuana in
their units, even if the tenants are mid-lease.

"As it stands [before] legalization, tenants are banned from smoking
marijuana in a building and you don't have to write it in the lease
because it's the law," Mr. Dickie said. "It would be ideal if the
province automatically [made it part] of leases, unless the landlord
and tenant agree to take it out of the lease, because that would
continue the status quo."

The Ontario government says its Residential Tenancy Act does not
include explicit rules about smoking substances of any kind in a
rental property, and the new pot laws do not contain any rules for
renters engaging in recreational use.

Landlords have the right to include stipulations banning tobacco smoke
when drafting a lease but if they do not, a tenant can smoke in their
own unit. Those rules will likely apply to marijuana when it is
legalized, the government says.
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