Landlords

Have you been thinking about a no-smoking rule for your rentals?

If you are like other landlords, you are probably tired of the time and money it takes to repaint, re-carpet, and turn over apartments that have been smoked in. Cigarette smoke travels through walls, doors, electrical outlets and ventilation systems. The residue seeps into carpets, curtains, furniture and drywall. The toxic residue referred to as thirdhand smoke is almost impossible to remove and remains on surfaces for months.

According to the Surgeon General’s Report, there is no safe amount of secondhand smoke. It affects many parts of the human body in both children and adults. Eliminating this secondhand smoke will prevent disease and death in your tenants.
Smoking is also a major fire hazard and a liability for you. In fact, smoking is the number one cause of home fire deaths in the United States.

Good news! You can adopt a no-smoking rule. Just like you might prohibit pets, you can prohibit smoking. You can have a no-smoking rule for individual units, common areas*, and even outdoors.

Not only will making the move to smoke-free save you time and money, it is the healthy decision!

Help is Available
Below are several documents to help guide you through this process, or if you have questions or concerns regarding smoke-free housing, contact your Local Public Health Unit.

*North Dakota's smoke free law prohibits smoking in most indoor public places, including common areas of apartment buildings, such as hallways, laundry rooms, recreation/common rooms, lobbies, and similar types of areas as well as 20 feet from public entrances. This law, however, does not apply to individual units in multiunit housing. The policies in those units are decided by the building owner.

Landlord Resources

Why Go Smoke Free?

Sample Tenant Letter and SHS Survey

Bringing The Healthy Air Home (American Lung Association)

Regulating Smoking in Multi-Unit Housing

Healthier Investments