Let's Talk About Managing a Smokefree Building
Interview with Shirley Weber, an owner who has offered
all of her rental units as smokefree since 1980:
"The reason that I have kept my buildings smokefree
is that smoking is a major cause of fire fatalities. I have had
some angry people who were disappointed that I would not rent
to them who accused me of discrimination. My understanding is
that you are permitted to put 'no smoking' in your rental ad,
but not 'no smokers.'
"My tenants acknowledge in the month-to-month
rental agreement or the lease that they do not and will not smoke.
They also agree that if they begin smoking, they will move in
thirty days.
"In all the years that I have been doing this,
there were two people who has to move out, a woman and her child.
The woman moved in as a nonsmoker, but began to smoke again. I
gave her three months to stop smoking or move and she moved. We
were both very sad about it.
"It is true that the more particular you are
about your prospective tenants, the longer it may take to rent
a unit, but I feel very good abut keeping my buildings smokefree."
(Shirley Weber, 213-256-1829)
Legal Considerations
Apartment owners have the legal right to refuse
to rent to people who smoke, just as they are free to refuse to
rent to people with pets. It's a matter of preservation of property.
Secondhand smoke creates an offensive odor within a rental unit
which lingers in spite of painting and rug cleaning.
The law is clear that there is no legal or constitutional
right to smoke, even in one's dwelling, according to John Banzhaf,
Professor of Law at George Washington University and director
of Action on Smoking and Health. Frank J. Kelley, the Lansing,
Michigan Attorney General, has said that owners may refuse to
rent to smokers and they can restrict smokers to certain buildings
within their complexes without violating federal and state anti-discrimination
laws. (Detroit News, May 5, 1992.) Interviewed in the same report,
even the tobacco industry agrees. Tom Lauria, a spokesman for
the Tobacco Institute, acknowledged that private business owners
have the right to determine what is best for their own property.
(from Regina Carlson, Executive Director, New Jersey GASP)
The Smokefree Apartment House Registry is administered
by S.A.F.E. (Smokefree Air For Everyone) and Community Partners,
Los Angeles. The Registry is made possible by funds through the
Proposition 99 Tax Initiative.
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