My Tenants Are Drug Dealers – What Should I do?

Tenant Drug Dealers

I’m more frequently reading extreme cases involving entrepreneurial tenants renting properties from unsuspecting landlords, for the sole purpose of expanding their cannabis farming business. It’s a legitimate issue all landlords should be wary of, even those with the firm belief of “it will never happen to me!”

Believe you me, the issue of rental properties being converted into drug dens is far more common than most people realise, and the issue is, once they’re in, it can be incredibly difficult to get rid. Needless to say, the best remedy is prevention.

The latest case I’ve come across provides some cool pictures, so I thought I’d quickly share the good stuff (the pictures, not the weed)…

Tenants Growing Weed In Rental Property

Tenants Growing Weed In Rental Property

Tenants Growing Weed In Rental Property

Tenants Growing Weed In Rental Property

Tenants Growing Weed In Rental Property

Holy moly! Pretty intense, right?

I’m told the photos are of a regular family home that was managed by a letting agency in Surrey. They were taken soon after the police had cleared the plants and lamps.

Unfortunately, I’m not an expert in the field of growing weed, so I can’t really comment on whether the farmers have an efficient operation, but it all looks rather functional. Is anyone experienced or knowledgeable enough to know whether it looks like a professional setup?

I’m curious about what that dark liquid-shit is in the bathroom, perhaps it’s some kind of fertilizer. One thing I do know, though; weed is grown under high powered UVB ultraviolet lamps in a moist environment, so all that moisture must have soaked into the floors and plaster. My guess is that the property is totally screwed.

How to avoid cannabis farmer tenants (and bad tenants in general)

As mentioned, cannabis farming in private rental accommodation is becoming extremely popular, so landlords need to be extremely rigorous when choosing their tenants. Thorough tenant referencing and routine property inspections is definitely the best way to avoid becoming a drug mule:

How to remove tenants breaking the law

If prevention wasn’t avoided (for whatever reason), the next step is to cure i.e. evict their asses.

I would urge all landlords in this catastrophic situation to avoid taking matters into their own hands. Although, I can’t imagine many landlords would up be for taking on a drug cartel! So I highly recommend getting in touch with a professional tenant eviction company for the most effective resolution. There are several to choose from, but I’ve always recommended LegalforLandlords, they’re one of the UK’s most reputable eviction companies, and they provide free legal advice for landlords dealing with problematic tenants:

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Best of luck!!

Finally, here’s a shout out to all my ganja-loving homies. Respect.

9 Join the Conversation...

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Sheldon 23rd February, 2010 @ 01:54

looks like hes sucking allot of hydro there lol

1
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Aunty P 24th February, 2010 @ 21:50

Like the video - shades of Cheech and Chong.

2
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Sam 26th February, 2010 @ 22:18

We just inspected a fully furnished property the tenant had left - in the wardrobe was all this light reflective foil stuck to the inside of the doors and the walls. I'm informed this is for growing cannabis. I guess I am lucky he chose not to bore through the walls and floors of the property and was a small scale farmer who wanted to hide his habit :)

3
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Jools 27th February, 2010 @ 10:16

At least they were considerate enough to cover the carpets LOL!!!

If we could just harness the ingenuity and resourcefulness of these people we could surely cure cancer in a decade!!

As a matter of interest - can you insure against this kind of destruction/vandalism or is it covered under LAndlords business insurance?

Jools

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Sam 27th February, 2010 @ 11:18

I'm wondering if it would come under the malicious damage by tenant - although that is restricted to 5k and is only on few policies (I know that as I only choose ones where you are covered by this - otherwise the tenant can trash your property and you have no recourse to insurance)

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Andrew 2nd March, 2010 @ 00:34

Looks like they had a pretty good hydroponics set up going on.

My cuzzy in Oz used to do that sort of thing so I have seen it before. The chemicals in the bathroom will be fertilizer which is required to max out the harvest and make the plants grow like there is no tomorrow. They have to have a great deal of moisture and light (as previously mentioned) but it is also important to keep a good airflow around the plants, hence the ducting and, undoubtedly, some pretty high powered extractor fans.

I used one of the fans my cuzzy had to make a fan for their "dunny". It is so powerful that the loo can be used immediately after someone has "filled the pan" and you'd never know!! (except the seat might be a bit warm.....)

There endeth the lesson on growing weed hydroponically.....

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Adam 30th July, 2010 @ 10:20

That is not hydroponic. Hydroponics is growing plants in water without soil... the dude in that house grew his weed in plant pots using a soil based medium.

The big brown box is a carbon filter extractor which filters the smell and blows warm fresh air out the other side.

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joe king 20th March, 2014 @ 10:44

They DON'T use UVB lamps, completely wrong info right there. They use High Intensity Discharge lights, typically High Pressure Sodium bulbs and Metal Hallide. Looks like a pretty efficient setup though. Also as the person before me rightly said, not hydroponics. The liquids in the bathroom are indeed fertilizers.

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Lee 6th October, 2016 @ 12:41

What if they do grow weed you silly landlords this is the sole reason for all these checks cos they say people make money from it which is bullshit for 99.999% landlords will be cool with it most of the time if you offer them cash when they find it thats all they love is the money after all thats why they dont like it they think you are making more than them typical narcissism which they all have that i have met the people who grow/smoke cannabis unlike drinking alcohol or playing top trumps are peace loving people with no violence and should be left alone i myself cant grow anymore cos of these 2 monthly checks and i am endlessly furious about landlords could almost say i hate them all! been waiting scince 9am this morning for these rats to turn up loosing me money every 2 months i wish Putin and Xi would hurry up and save us all from this form of dog eating capitalism

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