Reasons to be Smoke-Free

Making your properties smoke-free saves you money and can make your life easier.

When you go smoke-free, you can:

Attract more tenants. There is a high demand for smoke-free apartment buildings. Smoking rates have dropped over the past decade, particularly in Massachusetts. In fact, Massachusetts has one of the lowest smoking rates in the country. The increase in demand for smoke-free apartment buildings appears to be the result of an increase in the awareness of secondhand smoke-related diseases.

Save money on repairs. Prohibiting smoking can help landlords save money. Apartments in which tenants are allowed to smoke often require more time and money to re-rent. Some of the repairs you’ll avoid include:

replacing carpets with cigarette burns
patching burns in linoleum countertops and flooring
abating the odor of stale tobacco smoke
repainting yellow stained walls and ceilings

Eliminate the leading cause of residential fires. More people die in fires caused by smoking than by any other type of fire. Property damage from cigarette-caused fires exceeds $400 million annually.

Potentially reduce your insurance premiums. Some insurance companies offer landlords discounts on general liability insurance premiums if they implement a no-smoking rule. No-smoking rules reduce the risk of fire-related property damage, injury and death. Ask your broker.

Reduce potential legal liability. Under Massachusetts law, landlords are required to provide their residential tenants with a safe and habitable dwelling. Secondhand smoke that seeps into an apartment creates a harmful environment for which the landlord may liable. Residents have brought successful legal actions based on drifting secondhand smoke. Landlords can avoid the potential legal liability simply by eliminating smoking in their properties.

The information and materials contained on this website are for informational purposes only and are not offered or intended to be and should not be construed to be legal advice nor to be a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney.