MORE CO-OP ON GROW OPS

Homebuyers Deserve To Know

In recent years, the Greater Toronto Area has seen the rise of indoor
marijuana grow operations - illegal activity that uses
innocent-looking properties to grow millions of dollars worth of drugs.

Often, these are sophisticated operations run by organized crime right
in the middle of average middle- and upper-middle-class
neighbourhoods. According to the Ontario Association of Chiefs of
Police (OACP), grow ops can, and have been, set up in a wide variety
of buildings, including detached homes, apartments and industrial
warehouses. While the vast majority of homes are never used in this
way, it is important for homebuyers to be aware of this potential,
because the effects of these operations can have serious health and
safety impacts that persist even after the illegal activity has ended.
For example, the humid environment associated with the growing can
create toxic levels of mould. Also, stresses and alterations to the
electrical system could increase future risk of fire.

Realtors have worked hard to help address this issue. Efforts by the
Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) have included:

- - creating standard clauses that can be inserted into agreements of
purchase and sale to help provide legal assurance for both homebuyers
and sellers;

- - educating Realtors and their clients about these
properties;

- - organizing forums to bring together government and law enforcement
to find solutions;

- - participating in a provincial government task force on this issue
through our provincial association, the Ontario Real Estate
Association; and,

- - lobbying governments at all levels for action. Fortunately, some
government action has been taken. Most notably, the provincial
government enacted a law that requires municipalities to inspect these
properties once they have been dismantled by police and ensure that
they meet building code requirements. This was a good step, but more
is needed. Realtors have called on the provincial government to
implement a province-wide registry of former grow operations, which
would help prevent unsuspecting homebuyers from being victimized.
Toronto City Council has also asked the province for this.

Grow house information is already being provided in some
municipalities. For example, the Ottawa police service recently
announced that they will make this information available to the
public. The London, Ontario, police also provides this information to
the public. While this shows that action can be taken, a province-wide
- - rather than a patchwork approach - would better protect consumers.

When shopping for a home, it is not fair to expect homebuyers to guess
about something as serious as potential criminal activity. The Toronto
Real Estate Board and Realtors will continue to press the provincial
government to provide homebuyers with the information they deserve.

Maureen O'Neill is president of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a
professional association that represents 28,000 Realtors in the
Greater Toronto Area.