Landlords & Marijuana:
California Prop 64 – What You Need to Know
On November 8th 2016 California Proposition 64, referred to as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act was voted on by citizens of California along with numerous other state statutes.
On November 9th, 2016 California Proposition 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, was voted into law by the citizens of California. The proposition made it legal for individuals to use and grow marijuana for personal use on November 9, 2016. However, the sale and subsequent taxation of recreational marijuana did not go into effect until January 1, 2018.
This new law has many property managers, real estate investors, and landlords concerned about their legal rights to prohibit marijuana usage within their rental properties and communities. An already litigious landlord tenant environment exist within the state and many questions remain with some still unanswered.
Here’s what we know: landlords can still prohibit tenants from smoking marijuana in the same manner they can prohibit tenants from smoking cigarettes (tobacco) within the common area and interior of their rental property.
According to a recent article in the San Diego Union Tribune, Debra Carlton, senior vice president of public affairs at the California Apartment Association (CAA) stated,
“The short answer is yes, a private property owner could prohibit the smoking of marijuana at his or her property, The landlords could also say yes, but they are allowed to say no and restrict it or ban it altogether.”
This interpretation of the law has been widely agreed upon by numerous attorneys and legal consultants. However, this interpretation is regarding the legal right of a landlord to ban the recreational usage of marijuana.
The legal right for a landlord to ban the usage of medical marijuana is not so forthcoming. Although many legal scholars believe it would be upheld in court the exact verbiage is not included in Assembly Bill 2300 (AB 2300) which preceded Prop 64 in 2011. The Sacramento Bee has a great article on this and discusses the issue at length. Inevitably it’s just a matter of time before we see a legal challenge to this portion of the law which will result in a prejudice to draw from.
Until then and regardless of your position regarding the law if you’re a California landlord seeking to ban marijuana usage in both the common area and interior of your rental property, these three steps will be helpful.
- Impose no smoking of tobacco and marijuana within the common area & unit/property.
- Update lease agreements with an addendum to clearly spell out no growing or possession of marijuana plants within the unit/property. (State law now allows adults 21 years or older to have up to 6 plants)
- Stay consistent and clearly define your position in writing, seek legal advice with any questions prior to acting on matters pertaining to Prop 64.
The significance of this law will have a far reaching impact on other states as nearly half of the US has already legalized marijuana in some form. On November 9th, 2016, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts joined California and voted in favor of legalized use, sale, and consumption of recreational marijuana.
The shift toward open marijuana usage may present challenges for many landlords and property managers. Having basic knowledge regarding the parameters of the new law while respecting tenant rights are vital to avoiding discrimination and fair housing violations.
We hope you enjoyed reading Landlords & Marijuana: California Prop 64 – What You Need to Know. Please take a moment to check out the following ⤵️
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Written by Salvatore Friscia, owner of San Diego Premier Property Management a full service residential property management company offering Worry Free property management to the greater San Diego area since 2004 and TenantFinder.com.
This Post Has 8 Comments
Wish I had found this blog before. All the points are really very informative for the readers. Your experience is very helpful and I surely will read the other posts in this series too. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you. I’m glad you found value in the blog post.
Salvatore Friscia, Managing Broker
San Diego Premier Property Management
Marijuana is sometimes recognized by the medical community as an absolutely safe form of treatment.
My children required CAA Form 3.0-R last month and learned about a great service that has a lot of fillable forms . If others need to fill out CAA Form 3.0-R too , here’s https://goo.gl/xEjpyp
Rita, thank you for the comment. Please note that many property management companies have their own rental application available which they require when applying for one of their rental properties. Here at San Diego Premier Property Management, we have our application on our website along with FAQ’s and a breakdown of the application fees associated with submitting an application for one of our rentals.
Salvatore Friscia, Managing Broker
San Diego Premier Property Management
I am VERY HAPPY that landlords will be able to BAN marijuana usage within their places of rental as well as the outdoor common areas of their places of rental just as they can now do for regular cigarettes.
On a personal note, I voted AGAINST Prop. 64 in that I would hate to see in America what happened to India years ago when marijuana was legal nationwide there. They outlawed it AFTER MANY WORKERS BECAME SO DOPED UP THAT THEIR PRODUCTIVITY AS A NATION WENT DOWN THE TOILET AS WILL OURS EVENTUALLY!!!!!!!!!! Whatever happened to getting high on life by using the God given chemicals IN YOUR BRAIN?!?! On another note, ISIS would LOVE to see America get doped up on marijuana – think about it!!!!!!!!!! Finally, one average marijuana joint has nearly as many cancer-causing chemicals as ONE PACK of regular cigarettes such as TARS WHICH PRODUCE BENZOPYRENE – A CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL!!! Nice “safe” cigarettes, huh!!!
The citizens of the states voting to legalize marijuana are prove of the old saying, “There is no cure for stupid!”. I pray that President Trump enforces FEDERAL LAW outlawing marijuana for recreational use. I do, however, favor marijuana for MEDICAL purposes ONLY with a Doctor’s written prescription.
Larry, Thanks for your comment. It’s a fluid situation and we’re expecting lots of challenges to the existing law. Appreciate you commenting on our blog.
Salvatore Friscia, Managing Broker
San Diego Premier Property Management
Marijuana is not a chemical, do your research. Marijuana is grown from the ground and you do not have to use any chemicals at all to grow it. Marijuana is definitely not comparable to tobacco which has chemicals. You think it is ok to have with a doctors written prescription but not without one, hypocrite that’s what you are.