Re: Advice Please! Tenants Smoking Weed - Landlord Forum thread 341442

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

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

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