The President of the Near North Landlords Association said there are still too many unknowns when it comes to new legislation on recreational cannabis.
Pot becomes legal on October 17, and landlords are struggling with how it will affect landlords and tenants.
Trying and get some clarity, the association held an information night with speakers representing fire, police, insurance, human rights, as well as a doctor specializing in addictions.
“This was about invoking an understanding among our members that they need to know a lot more about what is going on,” said Association president John Wilson.
“We expected the vagueness. The law isn’t there yet. We don’t know where we’re going, and quite frankly this is really just to get not just our members, but politicians to start to pay attention.”
Wilson says the legislation is creating a whole new grey area for landlords to work through.
“It’s just like any new law. We’ll have to litigate all these different cases. For example, I’ve had a clause in our leases for 18 months that prohibits the use of cannabis or derivatives or production or growing. When we found out the federal government was going to legalize this, we thought we’d better start to get prepared, but we haven’t challenged that. We said legalized or not in our wording. So, our wording was very carefully selected that even if they did go ahead and legalize it, it would still be against our lease.”
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bechard opened up a discussion about fire safety with respect to cannabis use in residential properties.
“The problem is when people start dismantling devices such as smoke alarms or CO alarms because CO actually comes off of a cigarette and will actually come off a joint as well. So if you’re disabling those devices, North Bay Fire and Emergency Services is going to take a very dim view of that,” said Bechard.
“And I can tell you as a Deputy I’m getting to the point when I’m sick of explaining the legislation, and people need to maintain those alarms. They’re there for the protection of the people in the unit, and when you’re in a multi-residential unit, not just your protection, but your neighbour’s protection as well.”
Bechard spoke briefly about the potential dangers associated with the extraction of hash oil from a cannabis leaf.
“That’s a problem because they use highly volatile substances such as butane or propane, that will flash off very quickly. Both of those are denser than air, so they’re going to track along the floor and those items will stay in a cloud, and that’s going to cause a problem inside a residential unit. There’s many, many fires that have occurred in the province of Ontario as a result of extraction of the oil inside a residence.”
From a policing standpoint, Deputy Chief Scott Tod of the North Bay Police Service says landlords need to know what the legislation says in regard to the lawful use, consumption, distribution, and manufacturing of cannabis, and how it applies to them.
“And to learn what the limits are within their residences. We’ve had a number of people question us with regard to how many tenants in apartments, versus how many plants on the property. Also lawful consumption of cannabis in regards to youth in a residence. Our best advice is to look at the legislation, consult with a legal expert in regard to what that means in regard to the contractual obligations they have with their tenants and try to mitigate the circumstances behind the recent legislation both federally and provincially through the contracts that they sign with tenants.”
Landlords were also advised to look at how the new legislation could affect their insurance coverage.
That includes asking about coverage for damage caused by rust or corrosion, extremes of temperature, wet or dry rot, or any fungi or spores caused by plants growing in the building.
“This activity surrounding cultivating marijuana, growing it in residential or commercial occupancy, this four plant per household or unit rule, doesn't preclude us from denying coverage for claims that arise as a result of activities related to marijuana. So for example, if somebody is growing marijuana in their home, and there's a fire that breaks out, as a result of these activities, whether in whole or in part, there ‘s no coverage for that. The wording on that is pretty clear and at least for the time being, there’s not going to be any changes to the wording. So they should be careful about reviewing their insurance policies and their contracts and to take a look at the specific wording,” said Bob Palangio claims adjustor with Optimum Insurance Co.
Paralegal Jennifer Schmidt said the introduction of the cannabis legislation will find landlords navigating through uncharted territory.
“It’s expected that the process is going to continue to evolve with each and every case that gets litigated. Until all these cases are presented, it’s uncertain just what the impact will be towards the Residential Tenancies Act,” said Schmidt.
“As a landlord, you are required to be familiar with your rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act. I urge you to make yourself familiar with the landlord-tenant board website as well as reviewing and familiarizing yourself with the human rights code.”
Schmidt said the cannabis legislation doesn't mean any current or practical considerations under any residential tenancy agreements should be negated.
"Every situation has to be assessed individually, and considering all the applicable laws, while in the same respect being mindful of any accommodations with respect to the human rights code," said Schmidt.
“A tenants interests in either recreational or medical cannabis can be balanced with the interests of the landlord to ensure that the health and safety of all the other residents and the physical integrity of the property are not being put at risk by the activity of cannabis within the premises.“
The president of the Landlords Association said the information night generated some much-needed dialogue.
