Teh One Who Knocks
01-07-2014, 11:41 AM
Eric Egan - 9 News Colorado
http://i.imgur.com/leMniTu.png
DENVER - Another implication of Colorado's brave new world of legal marijuana is affecting apartment renters.
Several Denver tenants fed up with their neighbors' smoke habits contacted 9NEWS.
Since Jan. 1, people looking to light up lined up and likely took home their bag to partake in privacy.
"It's been a steady stream of phone calls from our clients," attorney Vic Sulzer said.
Sulzer represents the Apartment Association of Colorado. He's told them one thing since Amendment 64 took effect.
"Our reaction has always been that's it's not going to change anything," he said.
Sulzer tell his landlords they still have the power to decide whether they allow their tenants to smoke pot. Much of that say-so is dependent on the rental agreement.
"It's critical. A landlord's lease has a provision that prohibits whatever landlord wants to prohibit," Sulzer said.
Most leases operate under a federal law and drug free addendum, which considers marijuana an illegal and controlled substance. While pot is permitted in Colorado, so are a lot of things Sulzer said you won't see going on inside a complex.
"It's legal to bring your motorcycle into your living room to change the oil, but that doesn't mean a landlord has to allow a tenant to do the same thing," Sulzer said.
Tenants with complaints or those looking to smoke should ask their landlords, not their lawmakers.
On top of that, Sulzer expects property managers to now address the issue upfront with renters.
"I think that will be something that's made known because it is legal now," he said.
The Apartment Association of Colorado says most landlords aren't allowing grow operations. Colorado's Clean Indoor Act bans any smoking in common areas or within 15 feet of a building.
http://i.imgur.com/leMniTu.png
DENVER - Another implication of Colorado's brave new world of legal marijuana is affecting apartment renters.
Several Denver tenants fed up with their neighbors' smoke habits contacted 9NEWS.
Since Jan. 1, people looking to light up lined up and likely took home their bag to partake in privacy.
"It's been a steady stream of phone calls from our clients," attorney Vic Sulzer said.
Sulzer represents the Apartment Association of Colorado. He's told them one thing since Amendment 64 took effect.
"Our reaction has always been that's it's not going to change anything," he said.
Sulzer tell his landlords they still have the power to decide whether they allow their tenants to smoke pot. Much of that say-so is dependent on the rental agreement.
"It's critical. A landlord's lease has a provision that prohibits whatever landlord wants to prohibit," Sulzer said.
Most leases operate under a federal law and drug free addendum, which considers marijuana an illegal and controlled substance. While pot is permitted in Colorado, so are a lot of things Sulzer said you won't see going on inside a complex.
"It's legal to bring your motorcycle into your living room to change the oil, but that doesn't mean a landlord has to allow a tenant to do the same thing," Sulzer said.
Tenants with complaints or those looking to smoke should ask their landlords, not their lawmakers.
On top of that, Sulzer expects property managers to now address the issue upfront with renters.
"I think that will be something that's made known because it is legal now," he said.
The Apartment Association of Colorado says most landlords aren't allowing grow operations. Colorado's Clean Indoor Act bans any smoking in common areas or within 15 feet of a building.