Tenant Rights for Smoke-free Environments

"The members of our affordable housing associations have come to realize that providing safe, clean, and affordable housing goes hand-in-hand with providing healthy housing."
Joseph B. Diehl
Executive Director
The Affordable Housing Management Association of Washington

Everyone should be able to breathe clean air where they live. As a tenant, it's important to understand what protections you can request from your property manager or owner. To learn more and get practical tools to talk to them about going smoke-free, download these infographics:

Here are a few facts about the right to go smoke-free:

  • No-smoking rules are permitted under both federal and Washington laws, even in assisted housing.
  • Smoking is not a protected behavior. For more information, read an analysis of smokers' rights (PDF) by the Technical Assistance Legal Center (PDF).
  • Property owners and managers can choose to make their entire buildings smoke-free. Some choose to apply the rule to portions of the building or the entire property.
  • Non-smokers with certain disabilities are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or the Fair Housing Act (PDF).
  • The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) supports no-smoking rules.
    • The majority of Washington's 37 housing authorities have made some or all of their buildings smoke-free.
  • The Smoke-Free Environments Law Project conducted an analysis of federal and state laws, HUD rules, and legal cases (PDF) and found “unequivocally that a ban on smoking for new tenants who move into public or section 8 housing is permissible in all 50 states.”

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