Should apartment complexes bar renters from smoking?

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-ed-smoking-renters-santa-monica-20120722,0,7737945.story

The Santa Monica CA city council is voting on whether or not apartment landlords should have the right to restrict its tenants from smoking inside their dwelling. What do you think? Is that going too far?

No. I don't want to have to move.

I think landlords have the right to restrict it if they choose. You don't have a right to smoke wherever you want.

Absolutely not. That is going Way too far.

Tony Marino wrote:Absolutely not. That is going Way too far.

Way too far.

Agree. Way too far. Now if they want to make their lobby's and vestibules non-smoking, that's fine, but smokers should be able to smoke inside their own rented space.

Yes, it's going too far. They pay rent. They should be able to do whatever they want to do in their house, aside from anything illegal. I wish a motherfucker would. And I don't even smoke.

If landlords can say "No Pets", then I don't see why they can't say "No Smoking". To me it's no different. I wouldn't have a problem. I smoke, but never inside my own place.

I think it is a building owner's right to say, "No smoking." It will then be their deal if rentals stay empty because of it.

This might sound crazy... but perhaps they could have smoking sections and non smoking sections. I am on the bottom floor, and my upstairs neighbor smokes on the balcony... her bf throws the butts on the ground right outside of my door and on my patio. Another thing I have noticed... is smoke coming through the bathroom vent. One of my neighbors was smoking pot and it came thru my bathroom vent to the point that i could smell it on my towels! THAT i complained about.

I wouldnt want anyone telling me that I can't do something in my own apt... what's next--- "Please refrain from spankings during sex---it's too loud"??? I'd have to move! LOL

wants2laugh wrote:... her bf throws the butts on the ground right outside of my door and on my patio.

I would pick up every fucking butt and dump them in front of their door.

No I think that's extreme to the point of ridiculous. What next, no company of the opposite sex after a certain time?

Tony Marino wrote:Absolutely not. That is going Way too far.

Let them smoke, but if the place needs to be fumigated after they leave, charge them a fee for that, for the cleaning, carpet replacement, etc. My Grandmother has smoked for years, and after years of trying to keep up on washing her walls to get the nicotine deposits off, I said screw it, and last September, painted her place and rolled right over the dirt.

Now it's at least washable since I used gloss paint, and I can keep it cleaner than before. Someday when she's gone, at least the building management won't put up a stink, too, that it's all ruined from cigarettes, and the next person to live in Gram's unit should be able to move right in.

Yes and here's why. I moved into an apartment where a lady had smoked for eight years. The walls were yellow and saturated with smoke stink. The landlord had to tear them apart and do something or the other to them to get the smell out. It cost a fortune and rents had to be raised to accommodate.

As far as allowing people to smoke outside, I used to be okay with it but now I am not so sure. The thing is, outside where? When buildings are close together, where does the smoke go? Into the neighbor's window? That happened in my building where people were no longer allowed to smoke in their apartments so they began smoking in the backyard. Those people whose windows faced the yard got smoke in their windows and had to keep them shut all the time. Not so great in the summer. People who didn't want to be around the smoke could no longer use the yard so the landlord finally tell them the only place they could smoke was out on the sidewalk by the street. Bad situation all around.

I think that people who rented their apartments to be fair should be grandfathered in and allowed to smoke outside where others are not bothered but not have to move. However, new tenants should be told no smoking.

But even that makes me nervous these days. Careless smokers still cause so many apartment fires. Recently in the news, they showed an incredible extensive amount of destruction done by a careless smoker to his apartment complex. It was caused by his falling asleep on his balcony while smoking and drinking.

People got out okay but the cameras showed a little girl on the sidewalk crying desperately begging anyone who was near her to go back into the complex to save her three kitties who were caught in the fire. Of course they couldn't and the cats perished. I look at my old cat and honestly, if anyone was ever responsible for her death in that manner they themselves would have to answer to me and it would not be pretty for them.

I know you smokers out there are going to hate me but I'm sorry, between my severe asthma and the possible dangers to others, I just wish smoking could be banned from any place in could harm to people who don't want to be around it.

Minerva wrote:...I know you smokers out there are going to hate me but I'm sorry, between my severe asthma and the possible dangers to others, I just wish smoking could be banned from any place in could harm to people who don't want to be around it.

No. That's just being anal-retentive and sanctimonious. Smoking is still legal after all. I can go along with smoking bans in public places where there are mixed crowds....but in your own home? That's akin to not renting to someone because of their religion.

But it isn't your own home you are sharing it with the others around you. There is a greater chance if you share a common wall with someone their place will go up in flames along with yours than if you set your house on fire and the house next store will burn.

I have to mention that I certainly would not have moved into the stinky apartment if it had stunk when I first moved in because it didn't. I moved in during the very last couple of weeks of the dry summer sunny weather. The stink came out when the next week when the rain began. That's when I found out the previous tenant was a long time smoker. The land lord certainly didn't tell me beforehand.

Also it's pretty hard to run away from smoke in a small area or when people are smoking in outside in the yard under your window which is what happened to my neighbors in my present building. That's why the landlord here asked the smokers to move to the sidewalk near the street.

Maybe apartment renters who smoke should have to buy insurance against the possibility that there could be damage done by their causing a fire just like people have to buy car insurance in case they get in an auto accident and cause injury to others.

I mean, it appears that a lot of apartment fires are caused by careless smokers. Maybe if people knew they had to pay for their carelessness, they would be more careful. Or at the very least, they should pay a smoking deposit against damages smoking can do to the apartment for future fumigation. After all, I have always had to pay a non-refundable pet deposit and I have never had a cat of mine do the slightest bit of damage to an apartment.

I want to add that I don't object to people smoking. I believe that everyone has the right to choose their own poision. But it shouldn't effect others in the process.