Vote: Should landlords be able to ban smoking marijuana in rental units?
With marijuana set to become legal in Canada this July, landlords across the country are pushing for the right to ban pot smoking in rental properties.
Arguing that marijuana smoke could potentially damage rental units and disturb neighbors, a group of landlords has said it wants the ability not only to add a no-pot-smoking clause to leases, but to change existing leases to add the clause.
Currently, landlords can ban smoking cigarettes in rental units, but can only enforce the ban or evict a tenant they catch smoking by proving the smoke is bothering other tenants or damaging the unit.
Because smoking marijuana isn’t yet legal, there’s currently no framework in place that allows landlords to ban it.
Marijuana smokers who would like to keep it that way argue that with smoking marijuana banned in public places in many provinces, to ban its use in their homes would leave them with few places to smoke.
And some landlords have pointed to the difficulty of enforcing non-smoking clauses as reason not to implement a ban on pot smoking in apartments, since attempts to evict residents could lead to lengthy and costly legal battles.
What do you think?
