No, quite the opposite. Smoke-free policies save you money. A unit where smoking is allowed can cost you two to six times as much to turn over as a smoke-free unit would cost. This translates to anywhere between $400 to $3,000 more than the average cost per turnover due to increased labor, paint, carpeting, laminate, and furniture replacement.

A smoke-free policy may also help save money on property casualty insurance and will most certainly reduce your risk of fire. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Fire Protection Association, smoking-related fires are the number one cause of home fire deaths and one of the top causes of residential property damage.

A smoke-free apartment is one where smoking is not permitted in the unit and adjacent units sharing the same common air handling or HVAC system. This assures that cigarette smoke or vapor will not drift from one unit to another.

It is legal for a landlord or apartment building owner or manager to designate rental units as smoke-free. Because the preference for smoke-free properties is increasing, it is also an economic advantage for landlords and owners to market at least some properties as smoke-free. In some cases, residents are willing to pay a premium to rent smoke-free apartments.

There is no legal right to smoke. Smokers are not a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or other federal law.

Reasonable accommodation for a resident with a disability made worse by exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke may be required under the Fair Housing Act.

If a resident is injured or made seriously ill by involuntary exposure to smoke and chooses to take legal action, insurance might not cover that liability, especially if there is a pollution exclusion in the owner’s commercial general liability policy.

No. Many housing managers are already enjoying success with smoke-free policies at all types of properties.

In most worksites and other public areas, little policing is needed to ensure that the policy is followed. The policy should be discussed with your leasing and housing attorney, and it should be known that after instituting the policy you may be considered liable to keep the building smoke-free.

The same policies you would use for eviction for other rule violations could be applicable, so long as you have outlined the smoke-free policy properly on the lease. This may involve giving a set number of warnings before threat of eviction. In general, if your tenants realize you are determined to keep your property smoke-free, most will follow the policy.

Ask tenants to smoke outside or away from the building. You could try to reduce the secondhand smoke drifting between your tenants’ units by sealing the units off or by improving the ventilation but be aware that neither will eliminate the problem. The Fair Housing Act may require that residents with disabilities made worse by exposure to secondhand smoke be reasonably accommodated.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 50,000 deaths occur annually as a result of secondhand smoke-related illness, such as heart disease, lung cancer, asthma and other respiratory problems. Secondhand smoke is a carcinogen, a substance with no safe level for exposure. The only way to prevent these outcomes with certainty is to prohibit smoking in workplaces, public spaces, and residences.