How do I find a non-smoking unit?

You can find non-smoking rental housing at www.housingconnections.org/ smokefree.cfm.

You can view the entire list of non-smoking rentals by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking "search", or you can narrow down your search by location, rental amount, number of bedrooms, accessibility and more.

Whenever you call or visit a property, ask these questions about the smoking rule:

1. Find out if the rule is written in the lease or community rules. Ask if it applies to everyone, or just new tenants. Ask if the rule covers indoor common areas, rental units, and any places outside.
2. Ask if there are any tenants who currently smoke inside or out, and where they smoke. If they are smoking anywhere in the building, and there is shared ventilation, 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.
3. 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?
4. Are signs posted to make visitors aware of the no-smoking rule?
5. Did the previous tenant smoke? If so, what did the landlord do to clean the apartment?