Weed is now legal in IL but is it legal in your apartment?
Happy New Year and new decade! If you live in or own property in Illinois, then you know recreational marijuana is now legal in the state of Illinois. Which brings up the question many tenants are wondering: Can I smoke it in my apartment?
And landlords are asking: Can I prevent my tenants from smoking in their apartment?
For tenants:
If your lease states "no smoking", this now applies to smoking marijuana in your apartment or home. Some leases may specifically call out, not to smoke marijuana - which the landlord can do. Now, one way to get high in your apartment, if your landlord says "no smoking" and not break your lease, is to use edibles. Those do not affect the property or other tenants. With that being, said since marijuana is still federally illegal, your landlord can choose to not allow edibles. If they put that in the lease as well, than you'll have to keep all weed products out of the home. If you are a Section 8 tenant, odds are your agreement with CHA has this clause in it, since they are federally funded and do not allow drugs in the homes that they are issuing funds for.
For landlords: Just as with cigarette smoking, if you don’t want your apartments to have smoke in them, it is vital to put such verbiage in your lease. Check your lease to make sure it says “no smoking” or “no smoking of any kind” and not “no smoking of tobacco” which would than allow weed to be smoked in the apartment.
Medicinal Marijuana: What about medicinal? Do I have to accommodate someone’s disability by allowing them to smoke in my unit? As of now, that answer is no, since it is still federally illegal. You have the full right to deny anyone from smoking in the apartment - even if it is to help with a disability.
Thank you for reading! Please note, this article is based on our opinions of best practices but we are not lawyers. Please consult your attorney before implementing any changes to your lease or new policies for your tenant.
Want to make sure you have a great lease, and don’t have to worry about being the one to enforce it? Let's talk about your property management needs and get a free rental analysis of your current rents. Call 224-601-5415 to speak more about getting the most out of your Chicago rental investment.
