A Look at How Marijuana Legislation Is Going to Affect How We Live

With the pending legislation of Marijuana coming upon us on Oct 14, 2018, many questions are now being asked by homeowners, landlords and tenants on how this will affect them.

What we know right now is that in Calgary, personal marijuana use will be limited to individual residences and designated areas in places such as festivals. We also know that people will be allowed to grow up to four plants for personal use in their own home.

This presents a problem for not only homeowners but landlords as well because it allows plants to be grown in residence. Growing marijuana at a residence has been a long issue in real estate because of the potential damages that it can cause to the home such as excess moisture, chemicals and the threat of crime.

It is particularly worrisome that marijuana will be allowed to be grown in a rental residence without proper monitoring because a landlord would have no recourse other than to keep a security deposit, which according to the Residential Tenancies Act, cannot exceed one month’s rent. A landlord would then need to take their chances in court to pursue any further damages. This process can take months or even years to go through the court system and could also come at a significant financial cost.

In the residential resale market, this is going to present many issues for future buyers because they will now have to be more diligent when looking to purchase a property. Marijuana could have been grown in the property, and there could be damages in the home that cannot be seen by the naked eye. This opens up homeowners to a variety of issues not just about a home itself but because of health concerns that could come about because of hidden mould or moisture.

Although we still have a few months before the legislation becomes a reality, we need to take a hard look at how this legislation will affect each and every one of us in the future, so we can make sure our homes are protected and safe.