Learning Center

The Benefits of Smoke-Free Housing

Smoke-free units are easier to clean, safer and popular.

Landlords: Did you know you can save money and time, and even increase tenant satisfaction, by making your rental units smoke-free?

Consider these statistics provided by the National Center for Healthy Housing:

• Apartment turnover costs can be 2-7 times greater when smoking is allowed, compared to the cost of maintaining and turning over a smoke-free unit.
• Smoking is the leading cause of residential fire and the No. 1 cause of fire deaths in the U.S.
• According to recent surveys, as many as 78 percent of tenants, including smokers, would choose to live in a smoke-free complex.
• Secondhand smoke complaints and requests for unit transfers drop following the implementation of a smoke-free policy.

The bottom line is that it simply makes good business sense to consider making your housing units smoke-free.

For additional information on how you can implement a smoke-free plan for your apartments, condos or other rental units, check out these resources for American Family states.

Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
http://www.no-smoke.org/goingsmokefree.php

Colorado
http://www.mysmokefreehousing.org/

Illinois
http://www.lakecountyil.gov/Health/Pages/TFLCFactSheets.aspx

http://www.lungchicago.org/smoke-free-housing/

http://willcountyhealth.org/en/do.jsp

Iowa
WWW.TOBACCOFREEPARTNERSHIP.COM

Minnesota
http://www.mnsmokefreehousing.org/

Nebraska
http://dhhs.ne.gov/publichealth/Pages/smokefree_housing.aspx

Nevada
www.gethealthyclarkcounty.org

Ohio
http://publichealth.columbus.gov/smoke-free-housing.aspx

Oregon
http://www.smokefreeoregon.com/smokefree-places/housing/landlords

www.smokefreehousinginfo.com

Utah
http://www.tobaccofreeutah.org/muh-landlord.html

Washington
http://www.smokefreewashington.com/apartments/

http://kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/tobacco/housing.aspx

Wisconsin
www.wismokefreehousing.com

These recommendations were developed using generally accepted safety standards. Compliance with these recommendations is not a guarantee that you will be in conformance with any building code or federal, state or local regulation regarding safety or fire. Compliance with these recommendations does not ensure the absolute safety of your occupation, business or residence. It is the property owner's duty to warn any tenants or occupants of the property of any safety hazards that may exist.