GROW-OP DANGERS COULD SPREAD TO STRATAS, CONDOS

Landlords and strata owners should pay close attention to what's happening
around their property as insurance issues surface due to the proliferation
of indoor pot farms.

Grow-ups are now an "epidemic", according to David Keen of the Insurance
Brokers of B.C.

As a result, insurers are looking at ways to protect themselves from claims
that arise from the destruction caused by indoor marijuana growers.

"As (the grow-op phenomenon) has become so prevalent, insurance companies
are getting caught in these things," said Keen. "Insurance companies are
looking at all angles on all policies."

In addition to moisture damage from humidity and fires as a result of
faulty wiring, grow-ops often incur thefts and break-ins.

According to Dennis Prouse, government relations manager with the Insurance
Bureau of Canada, grow-ops have tended to be located in rented houses so
the goings-on could be kept private.

But as grow-op owners become more sophisticated about hiding the clues to
their illegal businesses (using filters to mask the smell, for instance),
the problem is starting to spread to strata-run apartments and condos.

Keen said strata councils may face insurance troubles if individual owners
rent out their spaces to grow-operators and damage results.

Many strata councils are already facing steep building insurance rates, he
said.

Those who have submitted too many claims to their insurers are sometimes
refused coverage.

Add a fly-by-night marijuana grower and the result could be expensive for
the grow-op strata's neighbours.

That's why Keen says it's important for building councils and individual
landlords to keep an eye on what is going on in their properties.

"Part of one's responsibility as a landlord is going into the building once
every two months or so to inspect it."

The landlord has to make an appointment, and naturally the tenant is able
to hide some things from notice, Keen said. But a major grow-op would be
difficult to keep under wraps with regular inspections.

Insurance companies can't be expected to make up for inattentive landlords,
in Keen's view. Times are tough for insurers, he said.

"I've been in the business for 43 years and this is the worst I've ever
seen it."

Some condos' insurance fees have gone up 40-50 per cent.

There isn't much sympathy in the industry for clients whose claims are for
damage created by a dope-growing renter.

Keen advises strata and condo councils as well as landlords to go over
their policies in detail with their brokers, and to visit their properties
regularly.

Prouse agreed. He said signs of grow-ops include a pungent smell, covered
windows, the constant hum of power, people coming and going at all hours,
an aggressive dog, numerous discarded bedding pots, and nobody actually
appearing to live at the residence.

"We're doing our best to educate landlords because the grow-op phenomenon
largely affects rented premises," he said.