Explore Smoke-Free Housing
This is for property owners, landlords and property managers who are interested in exploring a smoke-free policy for their multi-unit buildings. Read on if you are interested in a policy that can help you save money, reduce tenant complaints, improve the health of your tenants and increase your market share.
Smoke-free apartment policies are quickly becoming the standard for multi-unit housing in the U.S. A smoke-free policy is simple and straightforward. There is no Federal or State law that prohibits a property owner from implementing a smoke-free policy for their buildings or grounds and instituting a policy does not preclude someone who smokes from living in the building. It simply requires that all tenants abide by the policy while on the property. Going smoke-free in your buildings is one of the best moves you can make for your tenants and your bottom line.
Fast Facts
Reduced Operating Expenses: Apartment turnover can be two to seven times greater when smoking is allowed, compared to the cost of maintaining and turning over a smoke-free unit.
Tenants Prefer Smoke-free Housing: Many statewide surveys from across the United States demonstrate that as many as 78% of tenants, including smokers, would choose to live in a smoke-free complex.
Secondhand Smoke is Deadly: Secondhand smoke is a leading trigger of asthma attacks and other respiratory problems and a known cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Smoke-Free Housing is Good for Business.
A no-smoking rule is one of the easiest ways to reduce damage to your units and keep your costs down. Smoking can cause extensive damage to apartment units. The smoke can leave sticky particles, residue and stains on walls, curtains, cabinets, blinds, appliances, and fixtures. Dropped cigarettes and ashes can leave burn damage on tiles, carpets, curtains, countertops and bathtubs. Smoke odors can remain in carpets, curtains and walls for a very long time. Residue, burns and odors create more turnover time. Turnover time and cleaning costs can be 2-3 times higher for building owners and managers.
A no-smoking rule will also protect your property from fires. A dropped cigarette can lie in furniture or bed linens and smolder for up to 30-45 minutes, eventually causing a fire or large amounts of smoke. Cigarettes are the leading cause of fires in residential buildings.
It’s possible to see some savings in your building’s insurance costs by going smoke- free. With the reduced risk of fire and liability on the property to the health and safety of their tenants, the savings have been known to provide lower costs to the tenant themselves. The National Multi-Unit Housing Council advises that property insurance premiums may be discounted as much as 10 percent for smoke-free properties due to the reduced risk of accidental fire.
Smoke-Free Housing is Good for Health.
After decades of research on its health effects, we now know “exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.” Exposure to secondhand smoke raises the risk of heart disease by at least one quarter (25 to 30 percent) and also increases the risk of lung disease, cancer and stroke.
Secondhand smoke is classified as a “toxic air contaminant,” putting it in the same class as other contaminants including asbestos, lead, vehicle exhaust and a host of other chemicals strictly regulated in the U.S.
Children, the elderly and those with a chronic disease or disability are particularly at risk of developing a health issue due to secondhand smoke exposure. Children exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes are twice as likely to develop and continue to suffer from asthma.
Smoke-Free Housing is a Legal Issue.
What does the law say about making a housing complex smoke free? There are no federal, state or local laws that prohibit a landlord, housing authority or condominium association from adopting a 100% smoke-free policy. You can make your entire property smoke-free, including all apartment units and outdoor spaces.
What are some legal liabilities if my buildings are not smoke-free? Tenants could bring legal actions against a landlord for a breach of the warranty of habitability or the covenant of quiet enjoyment, trespass or nuisance, resulting in rent abatement or judicial termination of leases. While legal cases are rare, there is a growing likelihood of suits if the landlord knows the dangers of secondhand smoke and does not act to reduce exposure.
Tenants with disabilities made worse by being exposed to their neighbors’ secondhand smoke may seek legal action under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Federal Fair Housing Act requiring a reasonable accommodation in their housing. Possible accommodations could include developing or enforcing a smoke-free policy.
Is it discriminatory to designate an entire building or apartment complex as smoke-free? No. Smoking is not a protected activity or right. An individual’s status as a smoker is not a protected category or recognized disability. A smart decision is to implement a policy based on the activity of smoking and not an individual’s status as a smoker. Write the policy so that a person who smokes can continue to live in the building, but he or she must refrain from smoking in the building or other areas that are included in the policy.