I live in Oregon, USA, and the state has recently legalized marijuana. I have a tenant who smokes daily. I've visited a few times and the home always smells of pot.
I know how tobacco smoke can permeate a house. To be rid of tobacco smell you must pull out carpets, seal and repaint the walls, and so on.
Is this also true of marijuana?
I am on good terms with the tenant. If simple cleaning will be sufficient then I am happy to wrap the cost into their cleaning deposit. But, if it's going to be a serious problem later, then I'll want to invoke the non-smoking clause of our contract right away.
Does anyone have any information on this?
Best Answer
I think you need to deal with weed the same as you would tobacco. The smell is just as bad as tobacco. It FOR SURE permeates drywall. I have had to rip out drywall from a few pot houses. I think some things you need to think about are:
that most tobacco smokers try to air out their house. They may smoke more in volume but generally they smoke out windows or open windows/doors after smoking.
weed smokers may let the smoke sit in the room or create a hot room. It wouldn't take a great deal of time before a house was smell infested.
also weed smokers may grow their own. The marijuana plant stinks and can stink up a house in a few batches of 5 plants.
Really there is a great range of possibilities with both set of smokers. I have rentals and I personally would be more worried about weed. I think it is because the amount of smell damage you can do to a house with weed in short amount of time. I have had rentals before that I had smoke cost fears and talked to the renters way before it became permanent. I would feel I would need to check in to a house smoking weed every few weeks. It is just more of a communal drug and people often prefer holding the smoke inside.