Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I guess you mean that they are growing plants in their unit or garden space and not just that they have the right to use weed. Assuming you are not under rent control, you can still refuse to rent to someone even if their activity is legal but distrubes the peaceful enjoyment of the premises of the other tenants [they replace the curtains with the flags of every communist country existing, etc.]. You may also feel that some stupid Federal agent might cause problems, since the Federal government still maintains they can override state law. If you pay the utilities, you will be paying more in light and water which is an acceptable basis to not want them as a tenant. But since the use of particular "medications" is not a suspect class, as is race, gender, etc., you do not need a reason to not renew their lease.

If they have more than a thirty day month to month tenancy, it might be more difficult to support the claim they have breached the lease by thelr behavior, but you still could probably do so, especially if they are growing a large number of plants inside the unit or taking over other's usage of a common garden.

But if they are merely using it inside the unit, and you do not bar smoking, and their is no smell coming out of their unit, what is the complaint of the other tenants? There then may be no basis to remove him. And if the person is really sick and needs to use it, do you really want to remove him because other tenants do not like his lifestyle?

This is a difficult situation for everyone involved. Because the person is using marijuana legally under state laws, they are allowed to ingest in any form that they choose. Additionally, the person can grow up to 6 mature or 12 immature plants at any time. Further, if this person is designated as a caregiver for another person, or has special doctor permission to do so, this number can be increased.

Your best bat is to try to show that this person is a nuisance and interfering with the quiet enjoyment of other tenants. This can not merely be because they do not like this person or their lifestyle. It will probably need to be shown that the smell is emulating from the unit and entering other units. You may want to start with a letter to the tenant stating that their use is becoming a nuisance to other residents.

Calling the feds will probably have little effect if this person is properly following California's guidelines as a patient as Obama has requested the feds back-off those properly following state guidelines.

I deal with both sides of this issue often, so please feel free to contact me directly if you feel you would like to discuss this matter further in a more private forum, please feel free to contact me directly at the email address provided by LawGuru or through my website located at PasadenaEstatePlanning.com

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