LANDLORDS VICTIMS TOO

A growing call by the public to hold landlords financially accountable
when a crack shack, grow operation or meth lab sets up in their
property is off base, according to Rental Owners and Managers Society
of B.C. CEO Al Kemp.

Landlords are the victims of organized crime groups which run these
illicit operations, Kemp said, often causing major damage to the
rental property.

"Too often there is a knee-jerk reaction to blame landlords," Kemp
said. "We don't cause grow operations or methamphetamine labs - the
people in the houses do."

Under the Residential Tenancy Act, landlords have the right to inspect
their property monthly - with 24 hours notice. If the tenant refuses
to answer the door, the landlord must give a further 96 hours notice
that he or she will inspect the property without the tenants' consent,
Kemp said.

There are approximately 600,000 rental units in B.C. and less than 0.1
per cent are being used for illegal drug operations, he said. The Act
protects the large majority of tenants, which are law-abiding, from
random inspections.

"Once the people are in, it's a very difficult process to evict them,"
he said. "The landlord needs to get significant evidence of illegal
activity."

Knowing someone is selling or making drugs in a property is a long way
from being able to prove it in court.

And evicting tenants can be dangerous. On Tuesday, Nanaimo landlord
Milan Milanovic, 75, died of injuries sustained while trying to evict
a 55-year-old male tenant from an apartment.

A methamphetamine 'cook' can, "set up a lab the size of two kitchen
tables in half an hour and take it down in five minutes," he said.
Meth labs produce toxic waste which is often dumped on the property
and labs can explode, causing major damage to the property.

"I've seen a house lifted off its foundation and moved six inches by
an explosion," Kemp said.

Crack shack operators can conceal their drugs even easier, he said.
Grow operations are harder to hide, but can turn around major profits
in a short period of time - then be abandoned for another site.

"If you know what you're doing, it takes about eight weeks to plant,
grow and harvest a marijuana crop," Kemp said. "If you have two
crops... the house is ruined."

The heat and humidity cause mould and black rot, while the pesticides
and herbicides can build up residues in carpets, drapes and walls.
Grow operators often cut ventilation holes in the walls and modify the
wiring to run grow lamps.

"In a grow op. a landlord can be looking from $10,000-12,000 to
tearing down the house and building a new one," he said. "What a
landlord can do is due diligence in selecting tenants. "

Kemp said the Society hosts workshops to teach landlords what
information to look for and how to interview potential tenants.

"The majority of rental properties in the province are one, two or
three units. Almost all of these are managed by owners who are
part-time landlords," he said. "We're not building apartment buildings
in Canada anymore because of tax disincentives. That demand is taken
up by secondary suites and small, part-time landlords."

Kemp, who owns and rents a triplex as a part-time landlord himself,
said he, "can put a landlord in a position to be effective in one
full-day session."

However, drug producers and dealers have tricks to avoid being spotted
for what they are.

"The professional drug operators often have three or four identities
that can survive a credit check," Kemp said.

Fining landlords who become victims of drug dealers, "just tells
landlords to get out of the business," he said. As real estate prices
rise, more people cannot afford to buy property and need to rent. At
the same time, the high prices are an incentive for landlords to sell
their property - shrinking the rental market.

The real solution lies in taking a stronger stance against drug
dealers and producers, Kemp said.

"When Richard Coleman was solicitor general, he said there was 6,000
grow ops. busted in the Fraser Valley in 2002.

"In Whatcom County in Washington there was six. In Washington they get
a minimum five-year jail term. I've spoken with the RCMP and for every
100 grow ops. they bust, only 22 are prosecuted. Of the 21 [of those
22] that get convicted, only one and a half get a jail term," Kemp
said. "Is this a problem caused by landlords, or legislation? I think
the latter."

Kemp will be hosting a landlord education seminar in Prince George on
June 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Civic Centre.