Colorado Real Estate Management Professionals Question Their Legal Boundaries as it Pertains to the Newly-Established State Marijuana Laws – Part 2
Thank you for continuing our two-part series, Colorado Real Estate Management Professionals Question Their Legal Boundaries as it Pertains to the Newly-Established State Marijuana Laws. Last week, you learned that many of the Colorado real estate management professionals and/or landlords are curious as to what their rights are as far as the new laws regarding the recreational use of marijuana are.
Amendment 64 outlines the new law and, according to that amendment, property owners have the ability to govern the use, cultivation, and possession of pot on their property. Additionally, you learned that the cultivation, use, and possession of marijuana is still considered to be an offense under the federal law. This week, we will continue to expound on this topic.
The Crime/Drug-Free Clause
If you are a property owner and/or manager that has a desire to prohibit marijuana growth, use, and possession on your rental property, you may do so; however, you will need to incorporate a specific crime/drug-free clause into your agreement that governs the lease of the property. If you have this in place and a tenant show blatant disregard for the clause, you have every right under Colorado law to evict that tenant.
Unfortunately, you should be made aware of the fact that many of the judges within the state show reluctance when it comes to forcibly removing a tenant for the growth, use, and possession of marijuana without providing the tenant with the ability to stop their activities. As the acceptance of Amendment 64 continues to grow, there may – eventually – come a time when the crime/drug-free clause may not be enforceable; that is, unless the marijuana growth, use, and/or possession is resulting in some type of direct damage to the property.
Adverse Effects of Marijuana Growth on Property
Today, many Colorado real estate property professionals and/or landlords are allowing the use of pot on their property, but, not the cultivation of the drug. The reason being is, there are adverse effects that marijuana growth may have on property. First, the hydroponics have the ability to result in the development of growth.
Secondly, the operations required for pot growth may result in an unfavorable strain on the electrical components of the property. Additionally, there have been cases where pot growers have rerouted the property HVAC unit and/or cut holes to provide ventilation for the growth of the substance. All of these issues may prove to be detrimental to the property.
Currently, as a landlord and/or property management professional in the State of Colorado, you actually have a high level of flexibility when it comes to structuring a policy for your property on marijuana possession, consumption, and growth.
You may use the federal laws to back your stance on these activities, despite the state laws that are currently in place. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of flexibility as it pertains to the use of medical marijuana.
