Could smoking inside rental housing be banned in Tacoma? Potentially, but such a ban has legal complexities surrounding it. Tacoma City Council’s Neighborhoods and Housing Committee heard a proposal on the topic on March 2.
Jacqueline Strong Moss from the city’s Human Rights and Human Services Department mentioned the statewide smoking ban in public places such as taverns, restaurants and bowling alleys. That does not apply to rental housing, she noted.
However, some landlords are increasingly concerned about the costs of cleaning rental units after smokers move out. John Briehl, director of the department, said that as a result efforts to ban smoking in rental units are mostly market-driven. “There has been movement in the industry for smoke-free housing.”
Smoking is banned in some public housing. Briehl gave one local example. Tacoma Housing Authority bans smoking in its E.B. Wilson Apartments, which are designated for elderly and disabled renters. Smoking was banned in all 77 units last year. Seattle Housing Authority has one smoke-free complex.
The city of Belmont, Calif. passed an ordinance in 2007 that bans smoking in all new and existing apartments and condominiums that share a common floor or ceiling. Each violation is subject to a $100 fine. They are also subject to civil action brought by the city, which carries fines between $250 and $1,000.
No cities in Washington ban smoking in apartments.
One property management company, Guardian Management, bans smoking in its 6,500 units. It has complexes in Federal Way, Kent, Des Moines and several other cities in the state. Residents sign a no-smoking agreement and are responsible for making sure those living in and visiting the units abide by it. Violations are handled the same as breaking other rules in the lease.
Kelly Halligan, who manages an apartment complex just outside the city limits, said smoking was banned in the 58 units and no one has moved as a result. “More and more, the private sector does not want to rent to smokers,” she told the committee.
She wants the state Landlord Tenant Act amended so that smoking in apartments is considered nuisance behavior, similar to playing a stereo at high volume. She would like a smoking ban to be on the same legal level as the rule requiring all apartments to have a smoke detector.
Enforcing such a ban is difficult and is primarily complaint driven, Halligan said.
City Attorney Elizabeth Pauli said enforcing such a ban would not be easy. “Even with public and private sector enforcement mechanisms there is acknowledgement this is very difficult to enforce,” she remarked.
Mayor Bill Baarsma suggested making a smoking ban in multi-family complexes a condition for receiving a property tax exemption of eight or 12 years, an incentive accepted by many developers.
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