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.