Should Apartment Buildings Be Made Smoke-Free?

"In the past five years, smoking bans have come into effect in many apartment and condo communities as landlords and residents continue to push the cause through a growing and voluntary movement, according to Apartments.com, which recently conducted a national survey of renters on the topic.

While the majority of renters surveyed (62 percent) by Apartments.com do not smoke, opinions on whether or not to ban smoking in apartment communities were almost equal on both sides. A slight majority (45 percent) of renters surveyed do not believe that smoking should be banned in apartment communities, while nearly 40 percent support a smoking ban.

While many want to live in a smoke-free apartment, they are conflicted about the rights of the tenants. Thirty-two percent of renters surveyed believe that their property management company should not be able to dictate whether or not they can smoke in the privacy of their own apartment, 22 percent believe renters should be allowed to smoke in their space as long as it doesn’t affect others and 14 percent believe renters have the right to smoke inside their apartment, but would prefer to live in a smoke-free apartment community."