illegal activity

[Ofelia Marimon]

My handyman went to fix waterheater at one of my rentals, and he found marijuana and a scale.  It looks like illegal going on.  What should I do?

[Michaela G.]

Tough one. Sure, you can send them a letter and tell them to not do it again, but if that's their business, they're not going to stop. You don't have anything to prove, because it's hearsay from someone else. It would also put the handyman into a very awkward position, if he ever has to go there again and they now see him as an enemy and could potentially set him up for something.

You could send an anonymous tip to the police, but that could result in them doing some buys and maybe breaking down the doors for arrests. Then you might get a letter from them, saying that they've done undercover buys and if they come back and find other illegal activity they will seize your property, which forces you to file eviction.

I think, without any proof and if they pay well, I would likely pretend that I don't know, unless I hear it from someone else as well. 

I have had a handyman, that told me that one of my tenant families had drugs there. I confronted them and they denied. Not really anything I could do. I later severed ties with the handyman and I always wondered who was the liar. 

I've also twice been in the situation that I got that letter from the police and had to evict and ended up with lots of damage after the eviction.