Smoking is limited by law in many common areas of social gathering. We
see more bars and restaurants excluding tobacco smoke on the premises.
Other solutions to the growing demands of non smokers are to demand
that smokers be limited to certain areas. Transportation platforms and
offices also exclude smoking. Perhaps the time has come for a smoke
free policy in residences.
Why Prohibit Smoking?
The case for establishing a smoke free policy for your property:
Smoking is unsafe and can cause a fire
Lower your insurance premiums. Many companies offer lower premiums for smoke free enviroments
Tars and Nicotine are dirty and cleaning the unit for new rentals is more costly and time consuming.
Promoting a healthy and clean environment may make for a faster rental.
Second hand smoke is unhealthy for nearby residents and may cause complaints from non smokers in the building.
Smoke Free Policy Making and Your options
No Federal or State law prohibits owner/managers from non-smokinghouse rules.
If your building is vacant then beginning a smoke free residence
is easy. Just use a smoke free addenum to your lease located.
If you have existing tenants that smoke you could issue a change of tenancy with a thirty day notice. This may cause bad feelings and may even cause you an earlier move out.
You may also want to establish a smoke free environment for new
tenants and grandfather the existing smokers. Gradually becoming a non
smoking residence as the older tenants move.
Place a sign below the non-smoking sign asking tenants to call if smoking is seen in the building or in non smoking areas. Landlords have suggested this to us and say that it is very effective in curbing smokers. Smoking in a non smoking area can
be grounds for termination of the lease.
Smoking is prohibited in some areas by local ordinance. Place non- smoking signs in those areas.
You could require that smokers be limited to certain areas, such as smoking outside the apartment and never on wooden decks.
