Smoke-Free Housing

Smoke-Free Housing Pierce County is a program with a goal of protecting the health of Pierce county residents by increasing the availability and access to smoke-free housing.

What is smoke-free rental housing?
Smoke-free rentals do not allow tobacco products to be smoked inside individual units or in common areas like lounges, stairwells and hallways. The parking areas may also be smoke-free. Rentals are smoke-free because of the commitment of the property owner and manager to have these policies. A smoke-free rental property creates a safer living and working environment.

Why are smoke-free policies important?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 50,000 Americans die each year from lung cancer and heart disease related to secondhand smoke. The purpose for implementing smoke-free policies is to remove exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is produced when a person smokes a cigarette or other tobacco product. It is a mixture of gases and fine particles that pollute the air that other people may breathe into their lungs. If someone smokes a cigarette or other product, smoke can drift from one apartment to another affecting the quality of indoor air. Breathing in secondhand smoke irritates your lungs, reduces the oxygen in your blood and increases your risk of developing heart disease and lung cancer.

What are the benefits to a tenant in a smoke-free apartment building?

• Tenants benefit because their health improves and air systems are free of smoke and toxins.
• A smoke-free policy makes it possible for tenants to enjoy fresh air, and reduces litter and fire hazards.

Tenants can support smoke-free policies by talking with their landlords about the importance of clean air and protecting their family's health. Are you a tenant that is interested in your apartment building going smoke-free? The health Department can provide you with information to advocate for smoke-free policies in your building. For more information, contact George Hermosillo at (253)798-7664, ghermosillo@tpchd.org.

Click Here to view a listing of Smoke-Free Housing in Pierce County.

What are the benefits to an owner or property manager of going smoke-free?

• Apartments are easier to rent because smoke-free housing appeals to the general public.
• Seventy-eight percent of tenants want to live in a smoke-free building.¹
• The cost of maintaining and cleaning a smoke-free apartment can be two to seven times less than in one where smoking is allowed.²
• Some insurance companies offer discounts on property insurance for apartment owners with a 100% smoke-free policy.
• Smoking is a leading cause of residential fire and the number one cause of fire deaths in the U.S.³

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department can help landlords to develop and implement smoke-free housing policies. If you are a landlord or an apartment manager and are interested in smoke-free housing, the Health Department has developed an educational toolkit that will be useful for you. The toolkit includes sample policies to help you communicate changes to your tenants.

What is the Smoke-Free Housing Pierce County Task Force?
The Smoke-Free Housing Pierce County Task Force is a group of property owner, managers and representatives of property management organizations that meet monthly with representatives of the Health Department to promote smoke-free housing options in Pierce County and to assist in recruiting their peers to participate in the Task Force. If you are interested in becoming a member, contact George Hermosillo at (253) 798-7664, ghermosillo@tpchd.org.

What is the Smoke-Free Awards Program?
The Awards Program was established to encourage additional property owners/managers to become smoke-free on a voluntary basis. There are three levels of awards available.

• Gold: For the gold award smoking is prohibited on the entire property which includes manager, staff, tenants, guest and vendors. "No Smoking" signage is also required.
• Silver: The qualifications for the silver award are to include a smoking policy in the lease that states smoking is prohibited in buildings and 25 feet from the building for tenants and their guests. "No Smoking" signage is required.
• Bronze: The qualifications for the bronze award are to include a smoking policy that reduces secondhand smoke to tenants in the lease.

Get more information about taking your property smoke-free:

• Educational Toolkit Booklet
• Educational Toolkit Inserts (no smoking signs, awards program application, sample letter to tenants and sample addendum to lease)
  
• Window Cling
• Participants in the Awards Program
• The Smoke-Free Housing Pierce County Task Force

Listed below are some helpful resources for both landlords and tenants:

1. SmokeFree Washington: Learn about secondhand smoke in Washington State.
2. Public Health-Seattle King County: This website contains a guide that lists information about the benefits of smoke-free housing for landlords and tenants.
3. Washington Landlord Association: The Washington Landlord Association is here to help landlords in need of rental housing advice, forms, networking and Washington's legislative updates.
4. Oregon Smokefree Housing Project: Learn about the Oregon Smoke-Free Housing Project.
5. Healthy Homes Manual: Smoke-Free Policies in Multi-Unit Housing from the National Center for Environmental Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
   
6. Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound: With more than 4,400 members, the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound is a not-for-profit organization and the largest association of rental housing owners (single family homes to multi-family communities) in the the State of Washington.

Here are some other useful resources for tenants:

1. The City of Tacoma's Landlords and Tenants Program: The primary function of the Landlord and Tenant Program is to receive, analyze and resolve landlord and tenant disputes that arise under the Washington State Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18).
2. The Washington State Office of the Attorney General Office: Provides information about your legal rights as a tenant.
   

_{1 Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine. 2004-2006 Surveys. (Portland, ME: 2007.)
2 Washington State Department of Health, Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. 2003 Tenant Surveys. (Olympia,  WA: 2003.)
3 Oregon Smoke Free Housing Project, 2006 Market Surveys. American Lung Association of Oregon. (Tigard, OR: 2006.)}