Growing in rental houses?

[SpendThrift]

Hello everyone,

It's summer and I messed up my sleep pattern so I cant sleep, it got me thinking about what all of your views were on growing in a rental house. I've been reading around and it seems pretty much 50/50 between a rental and a house you own.

I know a lot of people don't have the option to own the house so what precautions can a home renter take to make sure they have the utmost security for their garden? Are there any specific clauses or things to look for in the lease, or anything to request added to it before signing for a rental?

I've read a number of threads about landlords popping up lately and would like to put together a list of things to do to protect yourselves before even moving into the house and starting your garden.

 

[alpinestar]

1. rent from someone who doesnt live in the same area

2. change the locks and add more - deadbolts are your friend

3. get religious and pray to god you are fine

 

[SpendThrift]

Ha I guess i'm sol if i'm not religious huh? I'm not talking about commercial grows either guys, just a nice maintainable garden in a small portion of a large house. We'll get more specific about the details later on..

 

[shaunmulok]

I do it my only advice would be is find out when rental inspections are and try and time your grows around them mine are every 6 months so i can work 2 grows if planned right(clones on second run) make your grow room easily pulled down and in general become your own handyman so you dont need to call realestate/landlord to do repairs in most cases they have to give atleast 24 hours notice

 

[nnnnghhhhgnnngh]

Growing in any rental I would be paranoid as hell. Landlord visiting, plumber services, burglary alarm.. though that can apply to personal owned houses also.. I am too paranoid already probably.

I would make it stealth grow in basement. Cables out of sight, ventilation turned toward wall and enclosure being some big metal tool storage cabinet. Locked.

 

[SpendThrift]

Well personally, I've been living in an apartment for the past few years and finally financially able to rent a house. 2story; 5+ bedrooms thousands of sq.ft but it's going to be an actual live in house with a family living there.

The grow is behind 3 solid doors, bedroom door/bathroom door/ closet door. Inside of the closet will be my tent with full ventilation and I have a Vaportek on the way. So far I've noticed in the lease that inspection or maintenance can be as much as once every three months. Not even a quarter of the whole house is used for the garden and it will be in a personal closet with locks on the door.

I'd love to hear some experiences or close calls.

 

[ProIndica]

Some landlords/owners you can just tell are gonna be the snoopin' kind

 

[HighTillDeath]

90 percent of the grow houses out my way are rented.

I'm fortunate to have money for a downpayment for a property and own it but I was thinking about getting a rental house in years to come. Your best bet would be to just go and look at as many as you can and meet with the owners. You can usually get a vibe and I'll bet a couple of them will say "I will never be by" or something to that extent but just watch for hidden clues and ask lots of questions.

Get out there and look at at lest 10-20 and see whats around and what the landlords are like!

cheers,

 

[strydr]

I'd love to hear some experiences or close calls.

As close as I wanna get..
My last apt., they sprung a inspection on me. I was super paranoid, and demanded they only inspect with me home. I had a small closet grow, pretty much out of sight, unless you went into my bedroom. Turns out, the inspection lasted <5 min. They were just looking for water leaks under the faucets, and testing the smoke alarms. Whew.. I was just being paranoid.

Just keep things small, sealed, and under control. be prepared to tear down if needed.
shaunmulok's right, become your own handyman- no need to involve the landlords when something goes wrong- just fix, and pass along the bill to the owner. I currently rent a house- as long as the landlord gets his rent on time, he never comes by. We fix anything around here that brakes, and they reduce our rent respectively.

All in all, "feel out" the prospective landlord. If he (or she) seems pretty cool, you'll prob. be fine. If they live far away, bonus!

 

[thekingofNY]

i'd say 90% of growhouse (commercial) around here are rented too. Like someone else said, its normally a landlord that lives across the country if possible.

One thing i've found renting a damn house, is you can't count on your landlord to come fix your shiat... we'll i mean u can if u want them to come in your place. Two good examples were my heat this past winter and my stove. Thankfully i fixed the stove myself and figured out a way to jerry-rig the heat so it worked downstairs at least.

If you are like me you will eventually make friends that you can trust that know electrical, hvac, framing, etc.

Also, who the F' puts up with landlord inspections every 6 months? I've never had a landlord inspection and wouldnt live in a place that did. Thats what decent credit and great past rental history is for. Or even a security Deposit equal to a months rent... Or maybe yall are out west and its really common out there? I dunno, that sucks tho

 

[whadeezlrg]

As close as I wanna get..
My last apt., they sprung a inspection on me. I was super paranoid, and demanded they only inspect with me home. I had a small closet grow, pretty much out of sight, unless you went into my bedroom. Turns out, the inspection lasted <5 min. They were just looking for water leaks under the faucets, and testing the smoke alarms. Whew.. I was just being paranoid.

Just keep things small, sealed, and under control. be prepared to tear down if needed.
shaunmulok's right, become your own handyman- no need to involve the landlords when something goes wrong- just fix, and pass along the bill to the owner. I currently rent a house- as long as the landlord gets his rent on time, he never comes by. We fix anything around here that brakes, and they reduce our rent respectively.

All in all, "feel out" the prospective landlord. If he (or she) seems pretty cool, you'll prob. be fine. If they live far away, bonus!

I 2nd that notion

 

[tree d]

I always change all the locks right away. Then if your landlord is a snooper you'll know right away when he comes at you bitching that his key doesn't work.

I also start up my lights right away, even if only with veggies & flowers. That way it sets the precedence for your higher electric bill. No sudden jumps in the bill.

Any fans that are gonna run are run from the get go. That way the sound is consistent.

Most states and regions have laws regarding the amount of notice they must give you to enter the property.
You can negotiate and get it in writing, even if no laws exist. You just explain that because of your schedule, you must have notice in order to get the house ready for visitors.

 

[Old Soul]

Just shop around and find the right landlord. Mine was a rental company that owned many houses. They did not have copies of the key, and I had to be home for any work that was done in the house. There were no inspections, and I lived there 2 yrs. I only saw the guy before I moved in and the day I moved out. That was a perfect landlord.
peace

 

[British_Bulldog]

I always change all the locks right away. Then if your landlord is a snooper you'll know right away when he comes at you bitching that his key doesn't work.

I also start up my lights right away, even if only with veggies & flowers. That way it sets the precedence for your higher electric bill. No sudden jumps in the bill.

Any fans that are gonna run are run from the get go. That way the sound is consistent.

Most states and regions have laws regarding the amount of notice they must give you to enter the property.
You can negotiate and get it in writing, even if no laws exist. You just explain that because of your schedule, you must have notice in order to get the house ready for visitors.

Good advice

Just shop around and find the right landlord. Mine was a rental company that owned many houses. They did not have copies of the key

Yeah m8, that's what they told you...



Peace

 

[Old Soul]

Hey British, I was not told this up front. It was when it came to needing some work being done at the house. I let the guy know and he said I would have to be there if I wanted his maintenance man to fix it because neither of them had keys to the house. Maybe his partner had a set but he lived in another state where the rent was being sent. Either way, I never had any problems.
peace

 

[Maj.PotHead]

tree d old soul and this [Just keep things small, sealed, and under control. be prepared to tear down if needed.] very soild advise.

i've been a renter for many yrs grown and rentn for alot, my current home owner lives outta state. when i 1st moved in front yard was nasty landscape all messed up dead, i breathed life back into it sent pics. he loved it been here 2 yrs havent met him yet i just mail him the rent every month and send pics out front and inside general ereas of home every now n then. a must is getting along with your neghbors being friendly but not overly friendly never tell them !! my 1 neghbor has lived in his house since it was new 30 yrs ago. we'll talk 30 mins easy just shootn the chit ya know same with the rest of my neghbors allways wave with a smile on the face say hi when they walk by early morning or evening. ya dont want a home in the ghetto or bad erea where cops spend alot of time working middle class are great. drive through the hood before renting early evening this shows ya what type of kids or around if the yards throughout are mostly well maintained. chances are mostly home owners alot of older rentals here yards look like chit nastly. mine did but not anymore lol

 

[Barnt]

The only reason why I'd say rent when growing is because of forfeiture laws. They can't take away what you don't own. However, you run more risk getting found busted by the landlord finding your grow...

 

[MEDI-EVIL]

rent from a property management company not the owner.
Ive found a company like this don't bother you. where the landlord can call any time and they will believe me..


me.

 

[Maj.PotHead]

in my state 24 hr notice must be given in writing or i can refuse and nothing he can do but whine piss and moan. i know i've done it before theres allways some 1 home at my house if my home owner came in un announced he would very least get beat up very most get shot as a burgler

 

[shaunmulok]

That right Maj. where I'm from the rental managements must by law give 24 hors written notice but it usually come about three days in advance and they also have six monthly inspections but these take less than 2 minutes they walk around check for broken widows/holes in walls and working smoke detectors last time i told them there was a baby sleeping in that room and they didn't even want to look so i didn't have to pull it all down and hide my veg box after all but i still wouldn't take the risk, when applying for rental enquirer if there are inspections during lease some will only do it when you move in and then again when you move out