A landlord from Exeter had a nasty shock when he made a routine visit to one of his rental properties: The only tenants in residence were 42 cannabis plants. Unfortunately, in a misguided attempt to make it nice and comfortable for the growing plants, the original tenants had pretty much wrecked the flat in the process.
Skilful damage done
The flat had been let to two brothers. One was a carpenter and the other was an electrician. Putting up a few shelves or wiring in a new plug socket would probably have been acceptable, but these two decided to make extensive holes in the ceilings of the flat so that they could install a complicated ventilation system. They also took the decision to knock through some of the rooms downstairs to make one large growing space.
Cannabis factory prosecution
The hapless duo were subsequently arrested and later appeared in court. Amazingly the judge took a somewhat lenient approach to their crimes. Because the brothers claimed that the cannabis crop was entirely for their own use and there was no evidence to show they had planned to sell the drug, the judge decided not to send them to jail. They were, however, sentenced to do 100 hours of community service and pay costs.
How to protect your rental property from cannabis farms
Making regular checks on rental properties is an essential task for landlords. You might not be able to prevent tenants from running a cannabis farm, but at least you can minimise any long term damage to your property.
