Are your tenants turning homes into drugs factories?

A pair of council tenants, convicted of growing cannabis have been spared eviction from their homes.
Richard Weldon, aged 45 was convicted of producing cannabis and sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment after police raided his home in Sheffield. A hole had been made in the ceiling to accommodate the ventilation system for the plants.

Although the judge said he had ‘no hesitation’ in granting a possession order of the property, he agreed to let Weldon stay in the home – subject to a suspended possession order which will last for 18 months.

The same warning was given to Arnold Crookes who was convicted of production of cannabis at his home using hydroponics equipment. He was given a suspended prison sentence, with an additional community penalty.
Although this is an example of a council housed tenant, there are plenty of cases of private landlords finding that their tenant is carrying out anti social behaviour in their properties and they often call us to handle evictions on their behalf.

In fact its recently been reported that there is a surge in middle class people renting suburban homes to grow cannabis in, as they attract less suspicion from the police. As many people feel the economic squeeze, the opportunity to make a quick buck may become an attractive proposition. As a landlord, you can protect yourself by making sure you carry out full tenant checks before letting anyone rent your home. Unfortunately there will be a small minority of people who will pass this test but go on to carry out illegal practices in your property. If you suspect this and need tenants to be evicted, contact us at the earliest opportunity and we will handle everything on your behalf.

Evictions has become one of our most in demand landlord services and that’s because we know the law inside out and do everything to ensure bad tenants are evicted quickly, with minimum disruption to you.