State Specific Question About: COLORADO (CO)

We have some prospective tenants who have disclosed that they have a license to grow medical marijuana. They want to use the basement of our rental house for this purpose.

I'm concerned about liability - if I recall, this is legal at a state level but still illegal at the federal level. Also, we ultimately want to sell this house in a few years and I'm concerned about what this might do to the property value.

This Q came up last week. In that instance the plan was to grow outside in the garden and I said sure go for it if it isn't going to damage the land and all that...

But when you talk about doing it INSIDE, well that is a horse of a different color.

I wouldn't be worried about the sale value. I'd be worried about some overzealous sheriff or prosecutor getting a bug up their butt and a no knock warrant to investigate and damaging the property physically.

NEXT

You got a clause in your lease agreement about running a business in your rental property? You renting business property or residence property?

In additional to the legal issues (the Feds could own your house) there are practical issues. The grow lights and heaters could overloak your curcuits, causing a fire.

A number of years ago I discovered that one of my residents had a "farming operation" in the bedroom. We happened to have gone to the common rear entrance to get a few tools out of a storage closet in the basement of a 4 unit. We noticed an acrid odor. It smelled like a burning bakalite handle such as one would find on the handle of a pot or pan such as Revere Ware. We left and came back about an hour later. The smell was worse. We knocked on all of the doors and smelled at all the doors. We declared an emergency and went home to get our unit keys (this was befor we learned about Earnie's LL Locks). The entire bedroom was full of tall MJ plants. We pulled the breaker and removed the extention cords, etc. Our largely +100 year old wiring was in danger of setting the building on fire. We told him that either he and his plants had to go or we would be offering our friends the building for training for their drug sniffing dogs.

This guy now has a great job with the UN. He is the son of a prominent merchant and a generally nice guy who came home to cair for a mutual friend and one of my neighbors when he was dying of brain cancer.

JJ, the applicant said they have a "license" to grow pot and you said your state legalized medical use. These are tow seperate issues and I may be wrong, but I don't believe it. Let them show you a license then I'll show you how my computer software can create a license too.

For the heck of it, I'd take the time and investigate if the applicant is telling the truth or blowing smoke cause it may come up again. Best to be prepared.

If you want these pot smoking losers to disappear tell the applicant your better half is a police detective and ALL information will be verified very closely. These losers may disappear faster lightning.

John

I wouldn't allow a farming operation even if it was for turnips. I sure as heck wouldn't allow a pot farm.

No way would I allow farming inside a house. The humidity and electric usage would almost certainly cause damage.

End of story.