Cannabis Farmers Continue To Use Rental Properties For Business

There have been numerous reported instances of tenants carrying out illegal cannabis growing operations in rented accommodation over the last year. This month three more unlucky landlords discovered that their properties were being employed as drug factories.

One Leicester rental property owner found that his tenants had turned two houses into full scale cannabis factories, only two months after moving in. The occupiers had wasted little time in fitting an air extraction system, as well as high powered lighting rigs, in order to kick start their illegal business.

The owner said, ‘it’s every landlord’s worst nightmare. I’ve been in this business for 22 years but this is the first time this has happened to me – and it’s happened to two of my houses at the same time’.

A representative of the Leicester Police Force warned, ‘there is always a risk of fire because of the way the electrics are tampered with’.

Another landlord, based in Wiltshire, uncovered the remains of a factory where a large scale drug growing operation had taken place. The property had been left in total darkness and plastic sheets had been put up all over the previously attractive interior. The previous occupants had used all three of the ground floor bedrooms to grow their plants.

The landlord said, ‘they had such an intricate system. Each room had pipes coming down into them with extractor fans to get rid of the smell. The ventilation was going up the chimney to vent the smell. The police said that with what was in the house, you should be able to smell it down the road’.

The tenants, who clearly had some experience in running this kind of illegal business, had created holes in the ceiling to make way for wiring which led to the heat lamps. They had illegally tapped into the electrics, all of which will need to be replaced.

Vicky Smart, Sergeant in the Trowbridge Police Force, said, ‘it looks like they left in a hurry. There was a huge harvest. We took 28 bags of compost, 124 small and 280 large plant pots and 10 bags of dead leaves. We have not seen anything of that size before’.

One unfortunate Croydon landlord had to enlist the help of a local builder in order to gain access to his own rental property. Upon entering he found evidence of a ‘highly professional’ drug growing operation.

Much of the Croydon property was taken up with the equipment required to cultivate the 300 cannabis plants.

Any buy to let property owners should be aware of the give-away signs that something is awry. If they notice windows which have been left permanently covered, a pungent smell, or visits at unusual times of day, then it may be sensible to carry out a thorough inspection.

For further information on how landlords in the UK can protect themselves from tenants that endanger their rights, visit Just Landlords . They can help cover malicious damage and make sure a property remains a safe investment.