Smokefree Apartments: A Smart Choice for Renters!
- 2. If you are having a health problem related to the secondhand smoke, get your doctor to write a letter documenting the problem and send a copy to your landlord.
- 3. Ask other tenants if they are having a problem with secondhand smoke. Tell them to voice their concerns to the landlord. You can demonstrate your community’s demand for smokefree living by delivering a petition with your signatures to the landlord.
- 4. If you have a disability that you think is related to secondhand smoke, you may ask your landlord for “reasonable accommodations” to allow you to use your housing just like everybody else. In this instance, reasonable accommodations might include such things as adopting a no-smoking rule for your building, being moved to a non-smoking building, or providing separate ventilation or sealing off your apartment. Check with your local Fair Housing Council for help. If you are unable to remedy the problem at your current building and decide to move to a smokefree building, let the landlord know the smoke is the reason you’re moving—they need to hear that they are losing business because of secondhand smoke. Remember, the only way to avoid the health hazards of secondhand smoke is to live in a completely smokefree building.
While you are working on a long-term solution to secondhand smoke, here are some “quick fixes” to help you during that time period. Please be aware that none of these methods are 100% effective in reducing secondhand smoke.
1. Talk to the smoking neighbor:
• Your neighbor may not realize that their smoke is a problem for you. Politely let your neighbor know that smoke is coming into your apartment.
• Ask them if they would mind smoking outside or in another room so that the smoke does not get into your apartment.
• Ask them if they would be willing to have their unit insulated and sealed off, as described in Step 3.
2. Ask your landlord to improve air filtration:
• Add more fresh air intake into the ventilation system
• Clean, change, or install better filters in the ventilation system
• Restrict the amount of air exhausted through the ventilation system from the residences of tenants who smoke
3. Seal off your apartment and the smoker’s apartment:
• Install door sweeps
• Fill or patch any cracks in the walls
• Insulate the air spaces around plumbing pipes
• Insulate and place outlet covers over electrical outlets
4. Ask your landlord to move you to another unit that does not have any smoking neighbors.
5. If the complex has multiple buildings, find out if the smokers would be willing to move to one building and the nonsmokers to another building.
I’m ready to quit smoking—what’s the next step?
If you are a smoker and are ready to quit, or you know of someone who smokes and is ready to quit, please call: 1-800-QUIT-NOW. If you have internet access, please visit the “Freedom from Smoking” website: www.ffsonline.org.
For general information about the benefits of smokefree housing, as well as additional resources for renters, please visit: www.smokefreehousingNW.com.
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