Home cultivation of cannabis has become a hot topic, especially with predictions of increased consumption after the legalization of cannabis in Canada and increased interest in facilitating access to cannabis. The Cannabis Act allows for individuals aged 19 and over to cultivate up to four legal cannabis plants per residence (not per individual in the residence). In this blog post, we will outline a few points you may want to consider before growing cannabis at home.

In our November blog post, we defined stigma, patent defects and latent defects. Purchasers will likely notice patent and latent defects of the property since sellers have an obligation to disclose them or because they are visible during a home inspection (such as damage to the structure of the property or mould, which may be caused by home cultivation). However, even if home cultivation of cannabis doesn’t cause physical damage to your property, the history of the property and its reputation for growing cannabis may still create a stigma. And although sellers are not legally obligated to disclose the existence of stigmas to purchasers, purchasers do have the right to conduct their own inquiries. In addition, purchasers may include representations and warranties in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale indicating that the property was not used to grow cannabis.

One of the prominent voices on the topic of home cultivation of cannabis is the Canadian Real Estate Association. The Association has been fighting to ban home cultivation or at the very least advocates for a heavily regulated cannabis market. In support, they point to the problems that home cultivation of cannabis poses to the health and safety of people and real estate, for example: air quality, mould, safety risks associated with installment of equipment like electrical and fire hazards. Landlords and condominium boards are also addressing possible pitfalls caused by the home cultivation of cannabis by imposing stricter leases and regulations to protect their properties. Aside from issues of safety and property damage, landlords are particularly concerned with increased hydro usage and interference with tenants’ reasonable enjoyment of the property.

Although it’s still too early to determine the negative implications of home cultivation of cannabis for home values and marketability, it appears that homebuyers in Canada also express negative sentiments towards cultivating and living in close proximity to cannabis. You can review an online poll on this topic here. Therefore, if you are contemplating growing cannabis at home, we highly recommend first considering how it could affect your property.