Download: Landlord Disclosure of Smoking Policies (PDF)

Secondhand smoke is a health risk in multi-unit housing.

Twenty-one percent of renters in multi-unit buildings say they are regularly exposed to a neighbor’s secondhand smoke. It drifts through windows, doorways, ventilation systems and walls, and clings to carpets and curtains.

Secondhand smoke contains more than 43 cancer-causing agents and many other toxins, including formaldehyde, cyanide, carbon monoxide and arsenic. There is no risk-free level of exposure.

Exposure to secondhand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer. It is the third leading cause of preventable death in the country, killing 53,000 nonsmokers in the United States and 800 nonsmokers in Oregon each year.

Children are particularly susceptible to secondhand smoke risks.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause sudden infant death syndrome, meningococcal disease and respiratory problems in children. Approximately 75,000 Oregon children have asthma, and secondhand smoke is a primary—and potentially deadly—trigger.

Renters currently have no guarantee that their home will be smokefree.

Individuals and families may rent a home in what appears to be a smokefree building, only to gain a new neighbor whose smoke drifts into their unit. Moving may not be a financially-viable option.

Most renters prefer smokefree housing; this bill improves their ability to find it.

Three-quarters of renters in the Portland metro area would rather live in smokefree housing, and more than half would pay more for it. Yet only 20 percent of rental properties in the Portland metro area has a clear no-smoking policy.

Landlords benefit, too. Many say smokefree policies help them attract and keep responsible tenants, and cut down on their maintenance and repair costs.

There is increasing legal precedent for clear policies. State courts have ruled against apartment owners who misrepresent smoking policies under legal theories of nuisance, warranty of habitability and quiet enjoyment. Courts have also held that an apartment resident with severe breathing difficulty exacerbated by secondhand smoke may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act.