Going smoke-free protects your health and your home.
Today, thousands of rental properties across Washington state have gone smoke-free. Everyone benefits from smoke-free housing. You can ask your landlord or property manager for a no-smoking rule in your building.
Find a Smoke-free Apartment
There's an apartment search engine designed just for landlords who want to advertise their smoke-free apartments—and for tenants who are looking for one. Visit the American Lung Association of Washington to start searching for a smoke-free apartment building.
Questions to Ask Before Renting
Ask the following questions about the smoking rules at rental properties you visit. Properties advertised as smoke-free can have very different rules.
- Find out if the smoking policy is written in the lease or community rules.
- Does it apply to everyone or just new residents?
- Does the rule cover indoor common areas, rental units, decks, balconies and patios?
- If there are residents who currently smoke inside or out, where they are smoking?
- If they are smoking anywhere in the building, and there is a shared ventilation system, it is likely that secondhand smoke will get into your unit.
- If they smoke outside near your windows or doors, it could also drift inside your unit.
- Ask about enforcement.
- Does the landlord check to make sure nobody is smoking?
- How would the landlord respond if you made a complaint about a smoking neighbor?
- If a tenant or their guest is smoking, what would the landlord do about it?
- Are signs posted to make visitors aware of smoke-free areas?
- Did the previous resident in your unit smoke? If so, what did the landlord do to clean the apartment?
- Leftover odors and contamination from secondhand smoke—also referred to as thirdhand smoke—can be hard to remove if an extensive cleaning is not done properly.