LANDLORDS FACE WRATH OF CITY HALL

Two Nanaimo landlords have been hit with another tier of trouble after
renting out homes to tenants who built marijuana grow operations.

On Monday night city council added an alert on land title notices for two
properties - one at 59 Fifth St. and another at 3430 Hammond Bay Rd.

The land title alerts are the last step in a new get-tough policy to deter
landlords from renting to would-be marijuana cultivators.

In February the city unveiled its new strategy which includes automatic
water shut-off, disconnection of hydro and a notice on the property title
stating it has been used for non-conforming (agricultural) purposes.

The process essentially makes the home unsellable and inhabitable until the
landlord can prove the home is again safe for occupancy.

And that process can often be costly.

'Because of the humidity mould gets into the walls and it can get to the
point it's made the structure unsound,' Mayor Gary Korpan says.

'A lot of times they have to rip out entire walls and put in supporting
beams, and tear out practically every part of wood in the structure.'

Drug growers also use harsh chemicals and fertilizers that can be a health
hazard to future occupants.

The notice placed on the land title is designed to keep the property in
limbo until the problems are resolved.

'It's incentive for the property owner to get his act together to resolve
the problem,' Korpan says.