Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed - Landlord Forum thread 341379

Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed by Anonymous on December 4, 2015 @10:29

I own several rental properties and it seems like about half of the tenants are smoking weed in the units despite the no smoking policy. Aside from that they are all great tenants, they pass all of the screening but for some reason "no smoking" seems to be ignored. It is not legal here but still very common. The first tenant I discovered doing this was a nightmare, I told them to stop multiple times because there were actual complaints and of course they didn't stop so then I felt like I had to evict or they would feel like I wasn't a serious landlord. If I go this route again I feel like I will be evicting very often and losing, otherwise, good tenants, so I don't know if I should just leave it alone or what?? It still just irritates me that they are ignoring the policy and pretty embarrassing to show a "no smoking" apartment while potential tenants can smell the smoke in common areas lol.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed by Garry (Iowa) on December 4, 2015 @12:31	[ Reply ]

It's a hard choice. Your "morals" vs theirs ( and the extra cleaning needed once they move out). Either "stick to your guns" and make all the smokers move out, which will cost you a lot of money in lost rents, or you can jump their rent at the end of their leases by $50-$100 per month. Just tell them there will be extra cleaning needed because of their smoke, which is why the increase in rent. You will never be able to stop them from smoking, and the proof needed in court to evict them will be great. When their leases are up, put everyone on M2M leases, so you can ask them to move in a short time frame, or increase their rents even more if need be.

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed

Happy New Year 2017

Re: Happy New Year 2017

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed by Original Poster on December 4, 2015 @15:20	[ Reply ]

They are all on M2M leases so I would just do a 28 day notice. But it would still mean a lot of lost rent and possibly getting stuck with an even worse tenant after them.

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed by MrDan (Georgia) on December 6, 2015 @15:11	[ Reply ]

You are allowed to prohibit cigarette smoking and you can also prohibit marijuana smoking if you have a 'Smoke Free' property. Furthermore, as marijuana is still illegal under federal law, you can include a clause prohibiting conduct that is unlawful under state and federal law. If your lease prohibits smoking or has an anti-crime or drug clause/addendum, the legality of marijuana use on a state level is irrelevant; you should be able to enforce the lease and prohibit smoking in the unit. Just be sure that marijuana is stated as prohibited too. Insurance companies do not have to cover damage caused by illegal activities. If you live in a state with marijuana legalized in some form, it is important to contact your insurance company in question to ask if they would cover such damage or decline coverage based on the federal illegality of marijuana. In general, if smoke, of any kind, bothers other tenants in the building, a landlord has a right to put a stop to the smoking. In fact, the landlord has a duty to protect the other tenants. Managers who shrug off violations are only encouraging higher-quality tenants to head for the exits and welcoming lower-quality tenants. "If drifting secondhand marijuana smoke interferes with the tenant�s enjoyment of the premises and/or creates health concerns, a Landlord may also be subject to liability if they merely �blow off� the tenant�s complaints about the smoke. A Landlord risks huge liability for allowing a nuisance � in this case marijuana smoke � to remain on the premises" With that said, marijuana is still illegal federally, so any marijuana use by tenants is a negotiated privilege, not a right. If you decide to permit the use of marijuana on your property, you can require the tenant to either use a vaporizer or an edible form. Just because they may have a 'card' that permits usage, does not give them the right to use in in the rental property. After all, governments still enforce no smoking laws in public areas and that includes marijuana also, even if it's legal. The courts and government agencies have ruled that employers do not have to allow workers to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. The same rulings should apply to landlords too. So if your tenant processes a 'medical marijuana card' you should still be able to prohibit smoking marijuana. Marijuana Smoke Contamination Test Kit

Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed by Kristina (CA) on January 4, 2018 @20:08	[ Reply ]

I am sorry you are going thru this. They are not respecting your rules. HOw about no SMOKING but allow edibles? If they still don't comply boot them. Make on an example. You are either smoke free or not. I was lax on an older drug damaged couple. They smoked in the unit when it's non smoking. I wish I booted them! It's really disrespectful. They are saying "I'll do what I want no matter what you say". I can understand your ambivalence.