• About The Issue

  • About The Issue

For Tenants

family in apartmentTenants in multi-unit housing are often unwillingly exposed to second and third hand tobacco and cannabis smoke in their homes. Secondhand smoke can flow through open windows and under doors, seep in between shared walls, travel along openings for pipes and wiring, and blow through shared ventilation systems.

There are solutions to protect tenants from unwanted smoke exposure. Smoke-free policies in multi-unit housing offer numerous benefits for tenants, landlords, and property owners alike, including by creating healthier indoor environments.

Smoke-free policies can also be sensitive to the needs of current tenants who are smokers by giving adequate notice, education, access to comprehensive cessation resources, and reasonable accommodations.

Here are additional resources for tenants looking to learn more about smoke-free multi-unit housing solutions >

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For Property Owners and Managers

sleeping babyFor tenants and owners of multi-unit housing, tobacco and cannabis smoke from neighboring units seeping through doors, windows, and through shared walls can pose not just a daily problem but a serious health hazard.

Policies that create smoke-free environments offer several benefits for property owners and managers, including the protection of residents’ health, improved market value, lower maintenance costs, reduced fire risk and legal liability safeguards.

Smoke-free multi-unit housing policies can be successfully, safely and fairly implemented through education, clear timelines, the provision of cessation resources, graduated enforcement strategies, and engaging residents early in the process. There are many things property owners and managers can do to set residents up for success.

Here are additional resources for property owners and managers looking to learn more about smoke-free multi-unit housing solutions >

For Policymakers

apartmentsWhether it happens at work, in public spaces or at home, there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke. For decades, research has revealed that second hand smoke exposure in multi-unit housing has serious health consequences.

Still, it is only recently that comprehensive public policy measures to address second hand smoke exposure in multi-unit housing have been adopted through government policies, including the smoke-free rule for public housing adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, a growing number of local jurisdictions have adopted protections for residents of multi-unit housing.

Smoke-free multi-unit housing policies can be safely, fairly and equitably applied in a manner that promotes housing stability and protects renters’ rights, including those of smokers.

Here are additional resources for policymakers looking to learn more about smoke-free multi-unit housing solutions >