Indoor Marijuana Growing In Rentals Put Landlords, Tenants In A Tight Spot

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SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Jon Castaline, a middle-aged disabled handyman, was looking for a place to store his tools and his medicinal marijuana plants.

The rental units Jill Escher oversees on Beach Hill was perfect. While the one-car garage below a motel-turned-apartment complex didn't have electricity or water, Castaline was allowed to install one power outlet so he could put up a light and do his handyman work in the storage area.

For $145 a month, it was hard to beat.

But two weeks into the month-to-month rental agreement, Escher learned from other tenants that Castaline was setting up a medical marijuana grow in the tiny garage and his operation quickly ended.

The fire danger, not the marijuana, irked Escher, she said. She immediately moved to evict Castaline from the unit and, after some resistance, Castaline agreed to vacate Thursday.

The renter-landlord disagreement is not unique to Castaline and Escher.

While medical marijuana cards are available in Santa Cruz County, finding a legal place to grow pot for medicinal use is not always easy.

As a result, tenants often set up indoor gardens without notifying their landlords. The grows - if sanctioned under Proposition 215, the state medical marijuana initiative approved by voters in 1996 - are legal and typically do not violate the terms of a rental agreement, supporters say. County guidelines do not limit plant quantity, but state medical growers cannot cultivate a canopy larger than 100 square feet.

That leaves landlords who don't want marijuana grown on their property in a tight spot.

"Even though they get a renter who can pay the rent because they're making money growing marijuana, the risk to the home is great," said Sgt. Mark Yanez, head of the Sheriff's Office drug team. "If they don't want that activity, they probably should include it in their rental contract, same thing (as) if they don't want pets in the house."

If a rental contract doesn't expressly forbid growing and a landlord wants the marijuana cultivation gone, Yanez said the best bet is to pursue an eviction through civil court, a costly and time-consuming process.

Yanez said about 80 percent of the indoor marijuana grows his unit busts are in rentals and that, often, property owners have no clue about their tenants' activities.

A pot grow - medicinal or not - poses several risks to the integrity of the home and the safety of those who live there, according to Yanez.

An indoor garden introduces moisture to the structure, which can cause mold, paint damage or loosen mortar around masonry. Sometimes growers cut holes in floors, walls and ceilings to add ventilation, the lights produce substantial heat and a grow requires ample electricity, so a grower might fiddle with the home's electrical system, according to Yanez.

"Houses generally aren't constructed with the idea that you can grow a lot of plants in there," he said.

A Boulder Creek rental was damaged in August when a fire broke out in an area where about 30 marijuana plants were growing, according to the Boulder Creek Fire Department. The small fire, which started when no one was home, caused about $20,000 in damage.

But Yanez also acknowledged that not every marijuana grow will cause these problems and that some property owners have no qualms with indoor pot gardens.

"If they're OK with it, then more power to them," Yanez said.

For Escher, the issue wasn't marijuana so much as the dangers the grow could pose to the 12 tenants living above the garage Castaline rented.

She said it wouldn't matter if Castaline were cultivating marijuana, growing tomatoes or cooking pizza in a wood-fired oven.

"My beef isn't with his ability to smoke. Fine. I could care less," Escher said. "This is about protecting my tenants."

The company Escher works for, Claradon Properties LLC, provides low-income housing to autistic and special-needs adults. Years ago, there was a fatal fire at that complex.

"I don't really care if he has permission to grow plants. ... He can talk to me about marijuana laws all day long. It's irrelevant," Escher said. "The last thing I want is another fire at this property, which is clearly a vulnerable property."

Castaline said he has no space to tend to the plants in the on-site housing he is provided at the motel he maintains. He was keeping 11 plants and four clones in a 7-by-7-foot mylar-lined room framed inside the storage unit.

The motel handyman, wearing a T-shirt and paint-stained sweatpants, said he suffered a serious neck injury in a car crash and uses marijuana to cope with the residual pain. His prescription medications cost $400 a month, he said.

"It's legal and I've done nothing wrong," Castaline said before Escher inspected the storage unit Wednesday.

He eventually removed the plants, but said he didn't know where he would take his personal-use grow.

"Maybe they should advertise pot-friendly," he suggested to landlords.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Kentucky.com, your local online news source | Lexington Herald-Leader - Lexington, KY
Author: JENNIFER SQUIRES
Contact: Kentucky.com Contact Us
Copyright: 2010 Lexington Herald-Leade
Website: Indoor marijuana growing in rentals put landlords, tenants in a tight spot - McClatchy Network - Kentucky.com
 
Typical story about a FOOL and the landlord. I agree with the landlord, even when I rented, I never told, I only grew one plant at a time, more for fun than anything, but I would hide it when the landlords came by, rarely come by. Plus, EVEN IF THEY FOUND OUT, they would laugh because they were from the 60's as in their 20's back then.

But this story, right off the bat was wrong of him to think he can do what he wants, and tries to argue her or that he has the right to grow....then doesn't get his way and expects landlords to say "Pot Freindly" what a dip___T he is, he totally is. She has all rights to kick his butt to the curb and I would have done the same if I were a pot smoking landlord myself....only because out of respect, I would want a fellow pot smoker to ask permission of MY PLACE!!! It's like taking my WEED, without ASKING....Does that not piss YOU ALL OFF??? You know that one that takes and never gives??

This is Why he's a fool too, because she was nice enough to him. He took advantage of her, if he felt he did nothing wrong, then why did he NOT ASK to have his plants before he first MOVED IN????

Because he knew she could say NO and then he'd lose out on a great rental....BUT HE LOST IN THE END ANYWAY!!! He would have saved all that energy and waste of time...GEESE what a FOOL.

If he would have said it in the begining, she would have said NO! and then this would be me NOT typing you all and telling you why he was a FOOL.
Good for her....people, please stop the stupid stuff while smoking weed...geese, YOU ARE ALL GIVING THE REST OF US A BAD NAME.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Jon Castaline, a middle-aged disabled handyman, was looking for a place to store his tools and his medicinal marijuana plants.

The rental units Jill Escher oversees on Beach Hill was perfect. While the one-car garage below a motel-turned-apartment complex didn't have electricity or water, Castaline was allowed to install one power outlet so he could put up a light and do his handyman work in the storage area.

For $145 a month, it was hard to beat.

But two weeks into the month-to-month rental agreement, Escher learned from other tenants that Castaline was setting up a medical marijuana grow in the tiny garage and his operation quickly ended.

The fire danger, not the marijuana, irked Escher, she said. She immediately moved to evict Castaline from the unit and, after some resistance, Castaline agreed to vacate Thursday.

The renter-landlord disagreement is not unique to Castaline and Escher.

While medical marijuana cards are available in Santa Cruz County, finding a legal place to grow pot for medicinal use is not always easy.

As a result, tenants often set up indoor gardens without notifying their landlords. The grows - if sanctioned under Proposition 215, the state medical marijuana initiative approved by voters in 1996 - are legal and typically do not violate the terms of a rental agreement, supporters say. County guidelines do not limit plant quantity, but state medical growers cannot cultivate a canopy larger than 100 square feet.

That leaves landlords who don't want marijuana grown on their property in a tight spot.

"Even though they get a renter who can pay the rent because they're making money growing marijuana, the risk to the home is great," said Sgt. Mark Yanez, head of the Sheriff's Office drug team. "If they don't want that activity, they probably should include it in their rental contract, same thing (as) if they don't want pets in the house."

If a rental contract doesn't expressly forbid growing and a landlord wants the marijuana cultivation gone, Yanez said the best bet is to pursue an eviction through civil court, a costly and time-consuming process.

Yanez said about 80 percent of the indoor marijuana grows his unit busts are in rentals and that, often, property owners have no clue about their tenants' activities.

A pot grow - medicinal or not - poses several risks to the integrity of the home and the safety of those who live there, according to Yanez.

An indoor garden introduces moisture to the structure, which can cause mold, paint damage or loosen mortar around masonry. Sometimes growers cut holes in floors, walls and ceilings to add ventilation, the lights produce substantial heat and a grow requires ample electricity, so a grower might fiddle with the home's electrical system, according to Yanez.

"Houses generally aren't constructed with the idea that you can grow a lot of plants in there," he said.

A Boulder Creek rental was damaged in August when a fire broke out in an area where about 30 marijuana plants were growing, according to the Boulder Creek Fire Department. The small fire, which started when no one was home, caused about $20,000 in damage.

But Yanez also acknowledged that not every marijuana grow will cause these problems and that some property owners have no qualms with indoor pot gardens.

"If they're OK with it, then more power to them," Yanez said.

For Escher, the issue wasn't marijuana so much as the dangers the grow could pose to the 12 tenants living above the garage Castaline rented.

She said it wouldn't matter if Castaline were cultivating marijuana, growing tomatoes or cooking pizza in a wood-fired oven.

"My beef isn't with his ability to smoke. Fine. I could care less," Escher said. "This is about protecting my tenants."

The company Escher works for, Claradon Properties LLC, provides low-income housing to autistic and special-needs adults. Years ago, there was a fatal fire at that complex.

"I don't really care if he has permission to grow plants. ... He can talk to me about marijuana laws all day long. It's irrelevant," Escher said. "The last thing I want is another fire at this property, which is clearly a vulnerable property."

Castaline said he has no space to tend to the plants in the on-site housing he is provided at the motel he maintains. He was keeping 11 plants and four clones in a 7-by-7-foot mylar-lined room framed inside the storage unit.

The motel handyman, wearing a T-shirt and paint-stained sweatpants, said he suffered a serious neck injury in a car crash and uses marijuana to cope with the residual pain. His prescription medications cost $400 a month, he said.

"It's legal and I've done nothing wrong," Castaline said before Escher inspected the storage unit Wednesday.

He eventually removed the plants, but said he didn't know where he would take his personal-use grow.

"Maybe they should advertise pot-friendly," he suggested to landlords.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Kentucky.com, your local online news source | Lexington Herald-Leader - Lexington, KY
Author: JENNIFER SQUIRES
Contact: Kentucky.com Contact Us
Copyright: 2010 Lexington Herald-Leade
Website: Indoor marijuana growing in rentals put landlords, tenants in a tight spot - McClatchy Network - Kentucky.com
 
There all ready are 420 Friendly Landlords.
420 Room Search
This is an area that is just sprouting and will continue to grow and become more common.
There are Realtors doing this also, that would be better for security reasons than a site everyone can view and then retain the address.


I have even read where people were buying an old dilapidated motel to rent out the rooms just to Medical Patients to grow in.

A new wave is forming and non approval is not going to stop it.

How would one not think the landlord or the land lords kids (who may have access the the keys) might not be the ones to steal the weed? Loose lips to those untrusted is just as Physically risky if not more so to the Disabled Medical Grower, than the very slight chance of a fire to the capable non Disabled others.

Would I have done what he did no, but I would not have done what the Land Lord did either.
It was more of the Land Lords responsibility to cover that one question rather than the renters job to volunteer information that could cause a disabled medical patient physical harm from rippers.
I also bet the Land Lord all ways asks if they will be growing in the interview and then provide the simple task of adding the no grow wording in the lease, after this incident.

A rental property is just that ones property to be rented to become someone Else's Personal Space. Personal Space trumps volunteered property.
Just as bathroom space is honored.
 
well, as far as i understand, the law can even forfeit your home or your rental property if the tenant grows pot there, unless he has a legal mj medical card and does not grow more than 7 plants allowed.
we adopted a homeless man and he lived in a shack among the trees on my property for 3 years. he has a medical permit, but recently we got raided and they found many plants, immature, but many. the guy is a headcase and i didn't watch as i never venture out on that side of my garden. so they put me, my hubby, one other guy who lives here too, and this green-thumb fellow, in jail for a few hours. (never been in trouble with the police in my life!) at my age, 74, it made me quite ill. i now have backflashes and cannot sleep, my bloodpressure got really high. funny thing is that is don't even use mj. this is not even 2 months ago, we are just hoping they don't drag us to court and jail. i got a registered letter that they will forfeit my home. i told them that i will not survive that. thse people are really scary. i have suspected they are mafiosos. i have been warned to not go after them with my lawyer as they have been known to use their powers to get even.
 
I don't think you should have to disclose to your landlord that you are a medical marijuana user or grower. If you don't make any permanent modifications to the rental property and follow all electrical safety codes then there is no reason to disclose medical information to your landlord. Usually, a renter signs a lease that states no modifications will be made to the rental property by the tenant without written permission from the landlord or property owner. Your landlord does not have the legal right to ask you about medical information which is protected under HIPA & other laws.

It is the landlord's responsibility to maintain properties which include staying up to code with fire regulations. That is why landlords must verify that smoke alarms are installed and continue to work properly through out the tenant's occupency. The landlord must also make sure the electrical system is up to code as well.

My source of information: I'm a current landlord & previous renter
 
You say the landlord could ask that in the beginning, am I to assume they have to ask if you are a meth addict too and your medical records??? Just because pot may become legal, does NOT mean everyone even knows about this and how it works when renting out a place.

If you were gay and your parents no nothing of that lifestyle, how can they accept it right away and know what to ask??? Until one lives in that lifestyle, people don't know. A child never having sex before knows nothing until first experience....going to the backdoor means to them enter from the backdoor of a house....lol

So yes, the landlord finding out could work with him, but I too would be pissed for him not telling me in the beginning and remember too, people still believe pot is a high school drug, not something a 50/60 year old man would do. So she never thought to ask that of him, nor would I and I smoke pot....lol :nicethread:

There all ready are 420 Friendly Landlords.
420 Room Search
This is an area that is just sprouting and will continue to grow and become more common.
There are Realtors doing this also, that would be better for security reasons than a site everyone can view and then retain the address.


I have even read where people were buying an old dilapidated motel to rent out the rooms just to Medical Patients to grow in.

A new wave is forming and non approval is not going to stop it.

How would one not think the landlord or the land lords kids (who may have access the the keys) might not be the ones to steal the weed? Loose lips to those untrusted is just as Physically risky if not more so to the Disabled Medical Grower, than the very slight chance of a fire to the capable non Disabled others.

Would I have done what he did no, but I would not have done what the Land Lord did either.
It was more of the Land Lords responsibility to cover that one question rather than the renters job to volunteer information that could cause a disabled medical patient physical harm from rippers.
I also bet the Land Lord all ways asks if they will be growing in the interview and then provide the simple task of adding the no grow wording in the lease, after this incident.

A rental property is just that ones property to be rented to become someone Else's Personal Space. Personal Space trumps volunteered property.
Just as bathroom space is honored.
 
Depending on state to sate law.
Burning man in in Nevada...I would go to jail and be fined big time if I brought my weed, one for transporting over state lines, two possesion, 3 just because something else...lol So, I won't go to burning man in the dessert.

California, I can grow as much as I want, Calif. Sup. Court overturn that, which allows no limits to ones medications. Some need more, some need less. I only need on Vicodin ES a day if needed and there are people whom need 10 a day if needed, not addicts.

Now sq footing is also a required amount about 25 sq ft. plot to grow as much as you want. I have a home with 5300 sq ft, minus the house, I could grow a lot. I only grow two contained in a storage shed, but see, knowing I can, I don't.

You are in Hawaii, may be different in laws. If you get a chance, smokes some weed to calm you down, it works and your house is just a house you cannot take with you when you go. Fear it all you want, will not change the outcome. think and know you won;t lose it and affirm it with the universe, and you will not lose your home. It will work out but send positive thoughts knowing you will keep it with the demand.
blessings

well, as far as i understand, the law can even forfeit your home or your rental property if the tenant grows pot there, unless he has a legal mj medical card and does not grow more than 7 plants allowed.
we adopted a homeless man and he lived in a shack among the trees on my property for 3 years. he has a medical permit, but recently we got raided and they found many plants, immature, but many. the guy is a headcase and i didn't watch as i never venture out on that side of my garden. so they put me, my hubby, one other guy who lives here too, and this green-thumb fellow, in jail for a few hours. (never been in trouble with the police in my life!) at my age, 74, it made me quite ill. i now have backflashes and cannot sleep, my bloodpressure got really high. funny thing is that is don't even use mj. this is not even 2 months ago, we are just hoping they don't drag us to court and jail. i got a registered letter that they will forfeit my home. i told them that i will not survive that. thse people are really scary. i have suspected they are mafiosos. i have been warned to not go after them with my lawyer as they have been known to use their powers to get even.
 
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