SMOKE-FREE MULTI-UNIT
HOUSING:
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
Presentation to
Florida Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials
August 7, 2013
Matthew Competiello
American Lung Association
TOUCH Initiative
Transforming Our Community’s Health
• Broward County’s TOUCH initiative is the only Florida funded Community
Transformation Grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
(HHS’s) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Funded under the Affordable Care Act to support public health efforts to reduce
chronic diseases, promote healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities, and control
health care spending.
• Award of $1.76 million a year for five (5) years (2011-2016).
• A collaborative effort among more than 20 community organization partners and 10
coalitions coordinated by Broward Regional Health Planning Council.
• Four main focus areas:
• Tobacco Free Living
• Active Living and Healthy Eating
• High Quality Clinical and Preventive Services
• Healthy and Safe Physical Environment
What does going smoke-free
mean?
• Has a written policy restricting
smoking:
 Inside units
 On balconies and patio areas
 In breezeways, staircases, and hallways
 Common areas
• No one size fits all policy.
 Smoke-free housing policies should reflect
the layout of your property and demands
of your residents.
Clearing the air on smoke-free
policies
• Smokers are welcome to reside in smoke-free
communities.
Smoking is restricted, not the smoker.
• Not a mandate to get people to quit smoking.
• A smoke-free policy allows housing providers
to protect the health of their building,
residents, and guests while boosting their
bottom-line.
Florida HAs with SF MUH Policy
Macclenny Housing Authority
Simply Better
Management
Waterway Village Apartments in Aventura
Catholic Housing Management
• Operates low-income
elderly housing in South
Florida.
• Provides housing for 2,400
tenants at 15 properties.
• Adopted smoke-free
housing policy effective
Oct. 2013 for all its
properties.
Why do I want a smoke-free policy
for my building?
• Market demand for smoke-free housing is high.
• It makes financial sense.
• Secondhand smoke, a deadly toxin, travels from unit
to unit.
• Secondhand smoke can cause tension between
residents and owners.
• Smoke-free housing policies are legal.
• It’s easy to do and easy to enforce.
High market demand
• Non-smoking is the norm.
• The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates:
18% of American adults are “smokers.”
17.5% of Florida adults smoke.
Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System, 2007 to 2008
Smoking in the home is no longer
the norm
• Even among smokers, there is a general consensus
that no one wants to live in an ashtray.
• 2 out of 3 Florida adult smokers (64.6%) always or
usually go outside to smoke.*
• 1 out of every 10 adult smokers (11.6%) never go
outside to smoke.*
*Data comes from 4,000 randomized individuals
selected by telephone (2006 Florida Adult Tobacco
Survey)
Smoke-free multi-unit housing has
support among smokers
• One-third of all smokers want a comprehensive smoke-free
policy for their residence. Among nonsmokers, this
percentage was higher (80.3%).*
• Almost half of smokers are bothered by outside tobacco
smoke entering into their home.*
• 60% of smokers would welcome a smoke-free policy if it went
into effect.*
Source: Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Survey Report for TOUCH.
September 2012.
The economics support smoke-free
housing policies
• It costs about 3 to 7 times MORE MONEY to
renovate a unit that allows smoking.
• Possible insurance savings.
Costs to Rehabilitate a Unit Where Smoking is Prohibited vs. a Unit Where
Smoking is Allowed
Non-Smoker
Light Smoker
Heavy Smoker
Paint
$168
$222
$478
Flooring
$50
$942
$1,422
Appliances
$60
$75
$489
Bathroom
$40
$60
$400
General Cleaning
$240
$480
$720
Total
$558
$1,779
$3,509
Data reflects surveys from housing authorities and subsidized housing
facilities in New England. Collected and reported by Smoke-Free Housing
New England, 2009
Smoke-free homes are more
attractive
• According to the National Apartment Association
smoke-free housing policies add value.
• The NY Times suggested this same fact:
 “Agents who have assisted people selling or shopping for
everything from starter homes to Victorian mansions
agree: as the number of public places in which a person
can smoke has shrunk, so has the number of home
buyers who are even willing to consider a house with
smoking in its past.”
SOURCE: (New York Times, "Real Estate & Secondhand Smoke: On
Tobacco Road, It's a Tougher Sell," February 8, 2004.)
Realtors see smoke-free homes
with value added
• “Cigarette Smokers Have Tough Time Selling.” Denver
Post, Douglas Brown (June 29, 2006). Reposted in
REALTOR Magazine June 30, 2006.
 “Smells don’t sell.” Anne Kedl, owner of Interior Assets, a
real estate staging business in Centennial, Colo.
• “Smoky, Smelly Houses Don’t Sell.” The San Diego
Union-Tribune, Emmet Pierce (Oct. 15, 2006).
Reposted in REALTOR Magazine Oct. 18, 2006
 “If you can smell it, you can’t sell it.” John Hokkanen, an
Encinitas, Calif. real estate associate.
Tobacco Smoke Knows No Walls
• Multi-family housing units are not designed to contain air.
• According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration
and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), secondhand smoke
cannot be controlled by ventilation, air cleaning or the
separation of smokers from non-smokers.
 ASHRAE encourages smoke-free housing policies as “The only
complete solution to the problem of secondhand smoke.“ (June 30,
2005)
• Indoor air quality studies have shown that up to 60% of the air
you breath in any one room may come from somewhere else
in the building.
Protect Your Property and Residents from Fires
• 93% of residential building smoking-related fires are
nonconfined.*
• 1 out of 4 deaths caused by home smoking materials is not the
smoker.**
• Nearly half (45%) of all deaths caused by home smoking
material fires were age 65 or older.**
• National Fire Prevention Council recommends: “If you smoke,
smoke outside.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _
*U.S. Fire Administration “Smoking related fires in residential buildings” (20082010).
** According to annual reports by the National Fire Prevention Council.
Protect Your Property and Residents from Fires
• Fire damage can cause
units to go off-line for
months.
• Water and smoke
damage to units can
also take them offline.
• Forces residents to
find alternative
housing.
• Residents may seek
legal action.
Lake Park Gardens in Plantation
Clary, Mike and Rodriguez, Ihosvani. “Smoking in
bed starts fire that displaces seven families.” SunSentinel, November 12, 2012.
Are smoke-free housing policies
legal?
• Legal research demonstrates smoke-free policies are
legal in every state in the U.S..
• Smoke-Free policies are not discriminatory.
• Fair Housing laws may apply when secondhand
smoke infiltrates a non-smoking unit.
 E.g., In Re: HUD and Kirk & Guilford Management Corp.
and Park Towers Apts. (1998).
• HUD-assisted housing may need to “grandfather”
existing tenants until their leases renew.
Developing Your No Smoking
Policy
• Include a smoke-free lease addendum with all
new construction.
• For existing buildings:
1. Set a certain date for all units to be smoke-free
(usually 6 months – 1 year in advance)
2. Include smoke-free lease addendum at time of
lease renewal
3. Include a policy in all new lease agreements.
Strategy for Going Smoke-Free
• Develop community partners
 American Lung Association
 Local Department of Health and Tobacco Free Partnership
 Area Health Education Center
 Local college and universities
 Legal firms, fire departments
•
•
•
•
•
Survey property managers & tenants
Set a timeframe for change
Inform residents of benefits
Update all leases and inform those on waiting list
Enforce the policy
How to enforce a no-smoking rule
•
•
•
•
Advertise units as smoke-free
Have a smoke-free lease agreement
Post signs
Inform residents that if they smoke in their units,
they will be held financially responsible
• Give advance notice to current tenants and those on
your waiting list
• Use same warning/enforcement methods for
smoking violations
• Visit properties regularly and perform inspections
Tips on Talking to Your Tenants
• Might want to go beyond your normal
procedures in announcing rule changes.
• The issue is about protecting nonsmokers
from secondhand smoke, not getting smokers
to quit.
• Secondhand smoke travels between the units.
• Fire risk
• Health considerations of nonsmokers, the lung
impaired, pregnant, children, and pets.
Other Considerations
• Evictions are rare
Nationwide, ALA has not seen massive evictions or
challenges.
• Accommodate smokers
Make sure signs for smoking designated areas
read “Smoker’s Haven”
• Might want to try piloting a smoke-free
property.
• Promote smoke-free policies
Resources in Your Folders
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
My contact information and this PowerPoint
HUD Toolkit
Sample Lease Addendum
Sample Resident Letter and Survey
Legal cases involving secondhand smoke
Tenant complaint form
Our website: www.smokefreebroward.com
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO TAKE OUR SHORT
SURVEY!!!
Tobacco-Free
Broward is working to
reduce exposure to
secondhand smoke
by implementing
tobacco-free parks,
tobacco-free college
campuses, and
smoke-free multi-unit
housing complexes.
Help support making Broward
County a place where we can
all breathe easy!
Scan the QR code above or go to facebook and search for “Tobacco Free Broward”
Conclusion
• The issue is about protecting nonsmokers
from secondhand smoke.
• Like all new changes, there are challenges but
the opportunities and benefits outweigh the
obstacles.
• There are community partners – I’m one of
them!
Matthew Competiello
Program Manager
American Lung Association
Serving South Florida
2020 South Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
(954) 727-0908 Direct Line
(954) 524-3162 Fax
mcompetiello@lungfla.org
Kamalie Belizaire
Program Coordinator
American Lung Association
Serving South Florida
2020 South Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
(954) 524-4659 Direct Line
(954) 524-3162 Fax
kbelizaire@lungfla.org
www.TouchBroward.org
Made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.