Smoking Ban in Apartments
Post date: Aug 02, 2016 6:1:40 AM
Per NOLO, as of January, 2012 California landlords have the right to restrict or even completely ban smoking on all or parts of the rental premises, common areas and individual units included. (CC § 1947.5.) If your rental agreement does not currently prohibit smoking, your landlord can give you a 30-day notice of change of terms of tenancy covering anti-smoking rules. The landlord’s new smoking restrictions will not affect you if you have a lease unless your lease is renegotiated mid-lease or it is renewed at the end.
And if your apartment complex includes a children’s play area or a “tot lot” sandbox area, your landlord must prohibit smoking within 25 feet under state law. (H&S § 104495.)
For future reference, California’s smoking law requires leases entered into on or after January, 2012 to include the landlord’s smoking policy, if the landlord has one.
2015 saw a continued pattern of increase of smoke-free properties throughout California. California cities, counties and housing authorities have continued to implemented ordinances and policies to restrict or discourage smoking in multifamily housing. As of September 2015:
thirty-eight jurisdictions adopted ordinances prohibiting smoking within a certain percentage of multi-unit housing units; and
sixty-nine cities and counties have smoke free policies (some policies require only disclosure, and some restrict smoking only in common areas).
California State University Long Beach has announced plans to be “tobacco free” by fall of 2016.
On November 12, 2015, HUD announced a proposed rule which would require each Public Housing Agency (PHA) administering public housing to implement a smoke-free policy within 18 months of the final rule’s effective date.
New smoke-free laws are being added rapidly. A current list of cities, and more information about local smoke free laws, is available at www.center4tobaccopolicy.org/localpolicies-smokefreehousing.
Additionally, local legislation regulating the use of electronic cigarettes, known as “ecigarettes,” is on the rise, including bans of e-cigarettes in public places in cities such as Lemon Grove and Santa Clarita. This growing trend is a good reminder for all landlords of no-smoking or smoking restricted properties to review their leases to ensure they cover the use of both standard as well as electronic cigarettes.