Pot is not legal in my state (although we are voting on it soon, looks likely to fail). But...

For those of you in states where it is now legal, how is it affecting you as an LL?

My concerns are:

1) Will I have to allow people to grow plants in the rental?

2) Can I still reject an applicant with a felony conviction for pot dealing from a few years ago if pot becomes legal?

thanks

"Will I have to allow people to grow plants in the rental?"

Nope. It's legal to grow bananas too, but only okay to do so in a rental if the landlord says OK.

2) Can I still reject an applicant with a felony conviction for pot dealing from a few years ago if pot becomes legal?

Well, "pot dealing" is really DRUG dealing. It doesn't seem to have achieved legal status as a consequence of legitimizing personal possession and use of marijuana. So, I'd say there will be no problems rejecting, IF you also reject other felons. It would be a different matter entirely if "pot dealing" was no longer a crime.

My basic approach is don't ask don't tell but if you tell me you are going to grow pot your ap goes in the slow stack. The slow stack rarely passes because we are in a hot market and someone else comes along before the references call me back. My experience is that pot growers rarely have the rest of life together enough to pass my screening. I have had two tenants I know grow/grew pot. One is in jail for DUI and the other is on the list of "I wouldn't mind if he leaves" and not for the pot reason.

The main thing is not to be the target for a test case. I would never tell someone they were rejected because they use or grow pot (according to state law). If they ask "we don't discriminate" If they have an old conviction, like SDlandlord said I can't tell what drug it was for so not sure how that would be discrimination. If they told me it was for pot I would have no way to independently verify that so I still wouldn't be able to approve them.

Philly is relaxing pot laws so penalties for possession won't crowd prisons.

that's good as far as I can see but legalizing is just askingfor a drugged up workforce. I have seen a lot of poor performance in hospital workers recently. I wonder if they are all high at night or only the dumb people who cant get jobs elsewhere are willing to work in hospitals.

Just tell your prospective tenant that on both sides of your rental there are people that go to work.

So the sounds of dogs playing on the morning walk and car engines firing up will be enough to wake the pot heads up while they try to sleep all day.

An old felony conviction is still a felony conviction. Even if society has changed its attitudes towards the underlying crime, the applicant who was guilty of that crime has shown his lack of respect for law and order and his willingness to violate laws. So I can still deny him, even if the underlying conduct would not be criminal today.

(Of course, it is still criminal -- the federal laws still outlaw it. Although I have never understood where the Fed guvmit gets its jurisdiction over pot. That is an unconstitutional usurptation of authority by the storm troopers in Washington.)

Hahahaha! RentsDue said "weeds out" these people!

I'm not in one of those states, so my outside opinion is

Past crime is criminal activity so it gets a NO.

There are plenty of other LLs who will rent to them withotu ANY screening.

(still thinking about LTD's old remarks about including a grow room as a rental feature! I cannot stop them so I might as well protect my house with proper flooring, etc!)

Thanks all, especially those like Bill in states where it is now legal...