Marihuana Grow Ops: What a buyer should know

An increasing number of houses in communities across Canada are used as indoor marijuana growing operations, or “grow ops”. The houses undergo significant structural changes in order to be used to grow the plants; these changes can compromise the integrity and inhabitability of the house, and can require major repairs and renovations to correct. The average cost to repair a home previously used as a grow op is $41,000, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. In rare large operations repairs to a home could exceed $100,000-$200,000 in damage and may need to be tore down all together.


The Ottawa Real Estate successfully lobbied the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Police Services to create a “Grow Ops Registry” where the addresses of houses that have had search warrants executed and drug operations dismantled are published online. This service began February 1, 2008. The list can be found here:


Ottawa Police Service - Marijuana Grow Operations


Further information on how to spot a grow-op in your neighborhood can be found here:


Ottawa Police Service - How to Spot a Marihuana Grow Operation


If you suspect that a home is being used as a grow-op, please contact police immediately.

Here are some links to more information about grow ops:

Government of Ontario legislation on grow ops:


CTV News - Possible provincial grow ops registry:

When a home is being sold it is a Realtors obligation to make it known that it was previously used as a grow-op. In fact, even if the home was sold a few times it is still the responsibility of the Realtor to disclose the past history of the home.

March sales back to normal after HST-fueled 2010

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,232 residential properties in March through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,495 in March 2010, a decrease of 17.6per cent. The five-year average for home sales in March is 1,256.


Of those sales, 296 were in the condominium property class, while 936 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.


“As you can see, last month was an extremely average one in terms of resale home sales, in a way that 2010 was certainly not. The effects of the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in July were already being felt in March as buyers leapt into the market to try to avoid taxes on the services associated with a real estate transaction,” said Board President Joanne Tibbles. “Years in which there are unusual market forces, such as the HST in 2010, tend to create skewed comparisons with subsequent years. Ottawa’s housing market is ticking along much as it usually does in early spring,” Tibbles added.


The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in March in the Ottawa area was $346,148, an increase of 4.9 per cent over March 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $253,763, an increase of 6.5 per cent over March 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $375,364, an increase of 5.6 per cent over March 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.


The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,640 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.


The MLS® system is a member based service, paid for by the REALTOR® members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The MLS® mark symbolizes the cooperation among REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real estate through real estate services provided by REALTORS®. MLS® commercial and residential listings are available for viewing on the Board’s internet site at www.OttawaRealEstate.org and on the national websites of The Canadian Real Estate Association at www.REALTOR.ca and www.ICX.ca.