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Written by Emma Lunn

A Nottingham landlord faces a massive repair bill after his property was used to grow cannabis with a street value of £200,000.

Landlord Jack Carr had no idea what was happening in the house he rented out in Foxearth Avenue in Clifton until he received a call from the police last week after officers raided the property.

After being alerted to a strong smell by neighbours, police discovered a cannabis farm with 268 plants. Large scale cultivation was taking place in the upstairs bedrooms and loft. The complex set up involved air ducts to take away the smell, dozens of large light bulbs to help the plants grow and electrical wiring bypassing the meter to gain free electricity directly from the mains.

The cannabis farm has caused extensive damage to the house, but when Carr made an insurance claim, he was told he was not covered under his policy. 

His insurer Towergate Insurance said: “It is vital for anyone buying insurance to check very carefully the precise cover their policy provides so that it meets their requirements. Unfortunately the let property policy purchased by Mr Carr clearly stated that it will not respond to damage caused by illegal activity to his property.”

Nottinghamshire Police says a man has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a class B drug.

The story serves as a stark reminder to landlords to fully vet potential tenants, make regular visits to rented property, and to check insurance policy small print before buying.


 

Comments

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    I have had to do several viewings at my HMO recently for a vacant room and have noticed a very strong smell of cannabis on entering the house.

    I dont know where I stand legally on this, particularly as my tenancy agreement stresses No Smoking on the premises. I know they mostly smoke their normal cigarettes outside but can I enforce anything? No doubt no authority would be interested, saying that the tenants are using it for their own personal use (even though it is still classed as illegal?)!!

    My tenants in the main are really very good and take good care of their rooms and the property but one tenant in particular is hell bent on finding a way to stop me from coming to the house to do the viewings using "her rights". I feel this could be because she too is a a user and does not want to be caught "in the act"!

    For those of us Landlords who do take care of both our property and the safety and security of our tenants (and we do exist, contrary to popular belief) it seems the law gives us no support for stuff like this. We cannot do right for doing wrong. There are too many grey areas in the housing law, especially for HMO's and far too many regulations for one brain to take on board. If you have a problem you can call a Landlord Association, a solicitor, citizens advice and without fail you will get three different answers for one question. If the powers that be don't know the true answer how are we Landlords expected to remember every regulation of which there are currently at least 100!! No matter how good we are at our job or how much we try to do right by our tenants it is always us Landlords who are deemed to be the criminal!!

    Also, yet another storry about an insurance company not paying up!! I always make them slow down when the rattle off the advantages of their policies. I swear they are trained to speak that fast so that you miss a vital something and how many of us understand all that legal jargon called "an insurance policy" which is usually a million pages thick and mostly has exclusions!! By the time you have had a chance to read through it all the "cool down" period has lapsed!! It's not til you need to make a claim you find out you are not insured!! Now they really are legalised criminals................but that's another story!!

    • 03 September 2013 16:45 PM
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