Landlord pays the price of drugs discovery

STILL waiting . . . landlord David Smith outside the Thompson Lane house which became a cannabis farm

No electricity, no rent and no tenant is no good for David

Private landlord David Smith has had a month of hassle, missed hundreds of pounds in rent and lost a tenant after uncovering a cannabis farm at one of his properties.

Today he hopes to get the house — along with an adjoining property — back on the market when electricity meters are reconnected in Thompson Lane, Chadderton.

Mr Smith, from Royton, discovered the drugs den when he went to read the meter with electricity company E:on at the former shop in Thompson Lane.

Police removed 56 plants which were under heat and light from an illegal tap into the electricity supply.

The shop also has a house at the back, let separately, but supplied from the same electricity feed.

When United Utilities cut the power supply, the tenant was left with no heat or light and moved out. Now, more than a month later, Mr Smith is still waiting to get power back on.

To cap it all, when the rental sign went up, it blew down in the wind and smashed the new front window.

Mr Smith, from Royton, rents homes across Oldham but the cannabis find was one of many disasters to hit him last year.

Seven bad tenants owed £19,500 in arrears and four of his properties were taken over by receivers.

One was sold £50,000 below market value to recoup the losses and pay off his mortgage arrears.

He said: “I rent 30 homes and have good relationships with most of the tenants.

“Occasionally, you get bad tenants. They seem to do it professionally — use all sorts of excuses then do a runner.

“I’ve found another cannabis farm in the past, in Shaw, and it took me six months to get back into the house after they had changed the locks, reaped the crop and disappeared.

“Getting the electricity on in Thompson Lane has involved ringing premium numbers and I had an A4 sheet of United Utility and E:on numbers.

“Eventually my mobile phone cut off because I had gone over my limit, ringing revenue protection, emergency metering and then E:on.

“It was only when the Chronicle stepped in that I was able to speak to someone at United Utilities who could help.”

After United Utilities finally carried out safety checks at the properties, he expected to get new meters fitted last Friday, but after eight hours at Thompson Lane no-one arrived.

A spokesman for E:on said they will definitely be there today.