DON'T PUNISH INNOCENT LANDLORDS FOR GROW-OPS

In light of the recent take downs of marijuana grow-ops in Langford, we'd
like to suggest to local municipal councils that they avoid the temptation
to follow the City of Surrey's questionable lead.

Surrey recently passed a bylaw to punish the landlords of rental homes in
which the tenants are busted for growing pot. It's an ill-conceived bylaw
that isn't likely to survive any sort of challenge in court.

Just for starters, the bylaw goes far beyond the powers of a municipality
and treads very closely to the area of criminal law.

Beyond that, the bylaw endeavors to hold one class of people accountable
for the actions of another. That logic is as preposterous as holding a
rental car company liable for the actions of a client who rents a car then
drives drunk and kills somebody.

The proposed $7,500 maximum fine also represents a double-whammy for a
landlord who has already been victimized by the existence of the illicit
grow-op in the first place. Unless the landlord is a conspirator in the
operation, he or she stands to lose from the discovery of the grow-op.
Often as not, the operation damages the landlord's property, costing
thousands of dollars to repair.

If police have evidence that the landlord is a party to the grow-op, then
they should undertake that investigation. The Surrey bylaw, though, takes
the position that it is a landlord's responsibility to ensure that tenants
abide by the law.

Obviously, a landlord isn't going to want to deal with law-breaking
tenants, but it's too much to ask that landlords become police officers.
The Surrey bylaw conveniently overlooks the notion that landlords are
required by law to give their tenants "quiet enjoyment" of the property.
That means landlords cannot undertake random fishing expeditions, looking
for illegal behavior.