Pubdate: Sun, 22 Feb 2004
Source: Surrey Leader (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Surrey Leader
Contact:  http://www.surreyleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1236
Author: Martin van den Hemel

GROW OPS, DRUG LABS TO BE DISCLOSED IN HOME SALES

Selling a home that's been used as a drug lab or marijuana growing 
operation will now be more difficult, thanks to changes made this week by 
the B.C. Real Estate Association.

On Friday, the association announced it will change its property disclosure 
statement - which is part of all real estate transactions - to include two 
questions (one for residential properties, the other for strata titles) 
that will identify if the home has been used to grow or manufacture illegal 
drugs.

Police believe the move will encourage property owners to keep a closer tab 
on their properties because a drug manufacturing history will likely hurt 
the property value. It will also create another headache for criminals, 
some of whom actually build houses with the intent to grow drugs and then 
sell the property.

David Herman, president of the B.C. Real Estate Association, said realtors 
want safe communities and this initiative is a step in the right direction.

"Hopefully this will help (police) with their work on this front."

Herman said there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 marijuana grow ops in 
the province.

Marijuana grow ops and drug labs can cause extensive damage to a home and 
expose it to toxic chemicals. Since the disclosure statement is part of the 
legal contract of sale, this could provide an avenue for buyers who make a 
discovery after the sale has completed to sue the previous owner, Herman said.

"We had a lot of positive feedback about this step not just from our real 
estate boards, but from the public."

Herman cautioned that homebuyers should still perform an independent 
inspection of properties they are considering.

The idea to add drug labs to the disclosure form, Herman said, came from a 
suggestion made by Richmond RCMP Supt. Ward Clapham.

"I think it will have a huge impact in the area of willful blindness," 
Clapham said, referring to property owners who ignore what's happening 
inside their rentals. "Now there's a responsibility for them that wasn't 
there before.

"Hat's off to the real estate board for helping us out dealing with this 
problem."

While this move will protect homebuyers, landlords are not required to 
inform renters of a property's history regarding grow ops and drug labs.

In one case last month, a family who had recently moved into a rental home 
was victimized by a group of grow rippers who kicked in the house's front 
door around dinner time. The house had a marijuana grow-op history, but 
that information was never relayed to the family, who said they never would 
have rented the place had they known.

B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman, who heads up the province's 
residential tenancy branch, said Friday that he's prepared to make changes 
to ensure tenants are protected as well.

"I think it's fair ball that that should be disclosed. I'm prepared to add 
that to the standard form tenancy agreement. I'll be asking my staff to 
look at how to do that."

The Canadian Real Estate Association pitched the idea of changes to the 
property disclosure form early last year. In December, the Greater 
Vancouver and Fraser Valley Real Estate Boards urged the association to 
consider those changes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom