Facilities & real estate
Should I buy or lease my cannabis property?
Last updated
The answer
Buy if the license and the real estate are meant to move together long-term and capital is available; lease if capital is scarcer, the license transfer market is uncertain, or the operator wants exit flexibility. Leasing also depends on finding a landlord willing to accept a cannabis tenant, which remains a limited pool.
Range reflects C3's Michigan transaction experience, not a published dataset.
Landlord risk cuts both ways
Cannabis leases command rent premiums because willing landlords are scarce and because a license lapse or revocation can end the tenancy's value overnight. That premium is exactly why some operators prefer ownership: it removes landlord risk from the capital stack, at the cost of tying up equity that a lease would preserve for operations.
Go deeper
Related pages on this site
- Sale-leaseback explained
- Sale-leaseback service
- Will a bank finance a cannabis property?
- Cannabis acquisitions & dispositions
More facilities & real estate answers
- How much power does a cannabis grow facility need?
- What ceiling height do I need for an indoor cannabis grow?
- What is C1D1 and do I need it for extraction?
- What should I look for in a cannabis warehouse?
- How much does a dispensary build-out cost?
- What is a cannabis sale-leaseback and why do operators do them?
Last updated
Next step
Apply this to your deal
Tell us the jurisdiction, licence type and building profile. We confirm the ordinance and licence position with the municipality and the CRA, then show you what survives it.
Last updated