In Wooster, Ohio there’s a police detective giving landlords advice. The advice isn’t unique to his town or even to Ohio.
The fact is that in most cities, the majority of the illegal drug activity happens on rental property. A drug dealer may rent property and then use the location either as a place to sell drugs or a place for buyers to use drugs.
Many times the dealer doesn’t even need to rent the property himself. He can find a customer or associate to rent the property and then just show up and start doing business. If you’re a landlord, that can be bad for you in several ways.
Drug users are really hard on property. Ask any landlord who’s had it happen. Things get broken. Holes get punched in walls. Often, the place is wrecked.
When drug dealers move in, good tenants start moving out. It doesn’t take long before drug users are the majority.
So, watch for signs of drug activity. One of them is a sudden increase in tenant complaints about noise or rowdy activity at all hours. Your local police department can tell you others.
Since many tenants won’t complain, check out your property from time to time. Don’t just go in the middle of the afternoon. Drive by at night and on weekends.
If you think there may be drug activity on your property, contact your local police. In some jurisdictions, the police will let landlords know if there are arrests for drug activity on their property. Ask your police department if they have any special programs or materials for landlords.
Your local police can help you spot drug activity on your property and deal with it. But the best thing of all is to prevent it. We’ll cover that in another post.