How do I find out if a BC house was a grow op?

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No public list says so in BC: ask the seller in writing, read the council's file and the title, and have it inspected; unrepaired grow op damage is a defect BCFSA expects agents to disclose. What a buyer can find is in the council's records, on the title, and in the house itself. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. No public register: Neither the Province nor the police publish whether a home was a grow op or drug lab, and police records about an address aren't public: privacy law keeps police records about identifiable people closed. What can show it is a council's order or a note on the title, below, and the seller's own answer. The council's records: Many councils have a bylaw for properties used to grow cannabis illegally or make drugs. North Cowichan's Controlled Substance Bylaw No. 3803 (2020) is typical: the inspector can require a special safety inspection, a professional engineer's report on the building, and a qualified environmental professional's assessment, remediation plan and certificate, and no one may live there until the work is done and the inspector has signed it off (ss. 6.1 to 6.4, 7.1). A council can also file a note on the title for unsafe or unpermitted work (Community Charter s. 57). Ask the council for the property file: it holds the orders, permits and inspections. Electrical inspections: A local government may ask BC Hydro, or another electricity distributor, for the account holders and the last 24 months' electricity use of the homes in its area, and pass that to safety officers or the police. A safety officer who means to inspect a home on that basis must give the owner or occupier written notice, which must be answered within 2 days (Safety Standards Act ss. 19.1 to 19.4). Ask the council whether such an inspection was made of the house. What the seller's agent must disclose: BCFSA lists unrepaired damage from the illegal use of a property, such as a grow operation, among common material latent defects. A licensee must disclose a material latent defect, which includes a circumstance a local government has told the seller must be remedied and a lack of the building and other permits the property needs (Real Estate Services Rules s. 59; BCFSA). A grow op's history that left no defect is a stigma: the seller needn't raise it, but BCFSA says the safest course may be to disclose it. Growing it legally: Since October 17, 2018 an adult may grow up to 4 cannabis plants at the home they ordinarily live in, 4 a household however many adults live there, out of sight of a public place (Cannabis Control and Licensing Act s. 56); growing for medical use needs a federal authorization for that site (s. 58). BCFSA says legal growing alone is unlikely to be a material latent defect unless it makes the property unfit for a purpose the buyer made known, but a former medical grow op whose wiring or permits weren't right can still leave one. What to look for: Moisture and mould, stained or patched ceilings and walls, vents cut through the roof or foundation, wiring added around the meter or panel, and a chemical smell (our reading). BCFSA suggests a buyer consider qualified professionals, such as air quality testers, for defects that can't be seen. Ask your insurer and lender before you remove subjects: some ask about a home's history (our reading).

How do I find out if a BC house was a grow op?

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Before you buy: who to ask