Deadline looms to ban pot smoking in apartments

Landlords race to ban pot Landlords have until Jan. 15 to change leases to ban smoking marijuana

Landlords in Quebec have one more week to notify tenants if they wish to prohibit the smoking of cannabis in their homes.

The unusual mid-lease change is possible because of legislation passed in response to the federal legalization of cannabis across Canada.

Landlords have until January 15 to provide official notice of the change in the lease. Any tenants who wish to challenge the change has 30 days after getting the official notice to bring their case before the rental board.

According to Hans Brouillette of the Quebec Landlords' Association, landlords can add clauses in future leases to prevent marijuana smoking, but would likely face challenges from tenants renewing a lease.

Before cannabis was legalized half of landlords in Quebec had banned smoking of all kinds in their leases, while 86 percent were planning to ban smoking cannabis.

The association expects that tenants who smoke medical marijuana will certainly try and contest pot bans.