WHAT GROWS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS?

Home buyers warned of effects of marijuana grow operations

You walk in and the overwhelming stench of fertilizer fills the air. The
walls are decaying from mould and moisture damage and unexplained holes are
found throughout the basement. The electrical panels are exposed and the
makeshift wiring looks like a fire waiting to happen.

This home used to be a marijuana grow operation.

Long after growers have picked up and moved on or the police have ripped out
the plants and removed the high-tech lighting and hydroponic equipment used
to produce pot, the evidence a house was once a clandestine drug lab
remains.

In most cases, marijuana growers rent the homes they use, leaving the owner
on the hook for "tens of thousands of dollars" in damages, driving resale
prices down and making the home tough to move, according to York Regional
Police Det. Sgt. Karen Noakes of the drugs and vice squad.

However, real estate lawyer Lou Radomsky, who teaches a course for the
Ontario Real Estate Association on how agents should handle grow home
resales, said the level of immediately visible damage inside a former grow
home varies.

Mould can go undetected because spores begin to form inside the walls first,
often only revealing itself months after a grow operation has been removed,
he said.

In a booming real estate market such as York Region's, that means
unscrupulous homeowners looking to dump the problem can sell quickly before
the full extent of the damage is revealed.

To avoid being stuck with a home suffering the after effects of a grow
operation, Mr. Radomsky says potential homebuyers should always have an
inspection done.

"You want to be as careful as possible here," he explained. "People will try
and cover it up. Initial appearances of mould can be hidden by paint or it
is behind the walls and won't come to the surface for a while. The use of a
qualified home inspector is always a good idea."

Mr. Radomsky says laws are unclear and untested in the courts regarding
owners' and real estate agents' responsibility in reporting a home's
pot-growing past.

But rather than help hide the truth and saddle buyers with a former grow
home's problems, York Region Real Estate Board president Al Orlando said
agents are encouraged to fulfill an "ethical responsibility" to divulge the
information.

Once they do, Mr. Orlando said, the seller is likely to take a loss on the
property.

"(Former grow houses) are a little tougher to sell and we definitely have to
adjust the cost to reflect any necessary repairs," he said. "It can be major
issue."

Bob McLean, director of communication for the Ontario Real Estate
Association, says as far as the law is concerned, any damage known to a
homeowner and agent, whether its from a grow operation or not, should always
be declared to potential buyers.

"Any latent defects must be disclosed. If a realtor knows there's excessive
moisture or mould behind the walls, they must disclose that. But when it
comes to disclosing whether it was a marijuana grow house, it's not that
black and white," he said.

"If a buyer asks the question and the realtor has that information, they
have to disclose it. But the problem is; what is a grow house? If my wife
has indoor plants is that a grow house? Is it five plants, 10 plants, 100
plants? Where do we draw the line? The important factor is the effect, if
any, it had on the house itself.

"And whether it's from a grow op or not, that has to be reported."

The provincial property information statements, which are completed by home
sellers, ask if a house has been used to grow or manufacture any illegal
substance.

But, with the stigma attached to grow ops and the potential of losing
thousands of dollars in a sale, damaged or not, Mr. McLean can only hope
sellers are completely honest.

Last year, 173 grow labs were found in York Region and police estimate there
are 10,000 across the Greater Toronto Area.

But the increasing number of grow homes has yet to have a detrimental effect
on the local real estate market, according to Mr. Orlando.

"Does it have a negative effect on the ability to sell a house? Absolutely,
but values across the entire market are not an issue right now," he said.

To avoid a negative effect on housing prices in their neck of the woods,
several suburbs surrounding Vancouver, where the grow home problem first
sprouted in Canada, have partnered with police in attacking the grow house
issue.

Municipalities including Abbotsford, Surrey, Langley, and Coquitlam have
either passed or are considering bylaws that force homeowners to either
clean up or have the cost of cleaning up grow operations added to the
property tax bill. The cost of police or fire services can also be included.

Politicians in those municipalities say the bylaws force landlords to keep a
closer eye on what renters are up to and, at the same time, ensure a large
number of former grow homes aren't hitting the market and driving prices
down.

Det.-Sgt. Noakes said she believes a similar bylaws across York Region would
help police stamp out grow ops, much like local body rub bylaws have helped
stem the tide of those illegal businesses.

Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase, Markham Mayor Don Cousens, and Richmond Hill
Regional Councillor David Barrow, a member of the police services board, all
said although it was the first they'd heard of such bylaws, they are
interested in bringing similar ones to their municipalities, which have seen
the most growth in grow homes recently.

"I think we're going to look at it very seriously," said Mr. Cousens.
"Anything we can do to help stop the proliferation of grow operations in our
community, we will do because it's become endemic here."