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Signs Your Tenant Has Turned Your Property Into a Drug House

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with AppFolio, Inc.

Nothing can be more costly to your job as a landlord than a tenant who has turned your property into a drug house. Drug houses spring up across apartment buildings and condos. They can be right under the nose of the landlord. Look out for these signs that your tenant has turned your property into a drug house.

Bright Lights

If you notice your tenant has high-intensity lamps, this may be an indicator that they are growing drugs in their rented space. A tenant utilizing such bright lights for grow-ops may try to cover up their windows with dark curtains at all hours or board up doors and windows so that outsiders don’t see what may be going on inside.

Strange Smells

If you suspect your tenant is operating a drug house, you might start to notice strange smells coming from their space. Drug houses can smell of ammonia, acetone, solvents and acid. If you catch a whiff of any of these smells, it might be an indication that the tenant is running some sort of drug operation.

Weird Visitor Hours

As a landlord, you tend to notice who comes and goes from the property. If you suspect a tenant might be running a drug house, they could have many unsavory visitors arriving at all hours of the day. These visitors don’t tend to stay long, since they are just getting in and out with what they want. Landlords should pay attention to the times your tenant has visitors. If people are coming over at 1AM for 5 or 10 minutes, this could be a sign of a drug house.

More Crime

If there is an increased amount of crime taking place at your property, this could also be a clue that your tenant is operating a drug house. You might hear people yelling, loud music or even gunshots in and around the property. If vandalism and burglaries are increasing at your property, this can be a telltale sign that a drug house is operating in your building.

Posted by

Zach Devine, Marketing
RentApp.com (A Service of AppFolio)

 AppFolio Property Manager

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Comments(3)

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Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

Just starting on the first episodes of Breaking Bad...so far, everyone owns their own home or lives in homes of a relative....YUK!

Aug 23, 2013 03:05 AM
Diane Daley
Caron's Gateway Real Estate - Northumberland, NH

Great post and helpful to many who do not know what to watch for,,, Thanks for sharing.

Aug 23, 2013 03:53 AM
Janell Kittleson
Rentec Direct - Grants Pass, OR
Rentec Direct

Good advice about paying attention to smells!  Once as a PM, I had a tenant report over and over that the neighbor needed to close their windows or something because they couldn't stand the smell of fingernail polish.  On the 4th call, it hit me!  This isn't fingernail polish!!!  

Sep 03, 2013 07:19 AM