Apartment owners across Los Angeles have come to learn that standing out in a competitive rental market requires decision-making that attracts tenants and leads to a modest profit that is paramount to survival in today’s business climate.
For many of them, they’ve come to realize it makes good business sense to incorporate nonsmoking policies in their buildings, something they’re giving more consideration to these days. Not only is it financially prudent, but it also promotes public health, making smoke-free apartment housing a win-win proposition.
By going smoke free, apartment owners are able to provide an amenity that is in high demand. They are also able to limit the wear and tear on their units, which results in significant savings. When it comes to turning apartments over to new tenants, it’s been estimated that an owner might have to spend $5,000 more per unit where past tenants smoked.
Consider the additional expenses of smoking-related costs such as repairing and painting walls, ceilings and fixtures as well as replacing carpeting – apartment owners soon realize they can save thousands of dollars by going smoke free. According to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, the cost of turning over a smoking unit between tenancies can cost two to seven times more than turning over a smoke-free unit.
There are also substantial savings in insurance costs waiting to be gained by going smoke free due to a diminished fire hazard. Smoking-related fires cause $326 million in property damage each year in the United States.
And there are still more benefits to be considered.
For apartment housing providers, a no-smoking policy means less likelihood of legal claims being filed by tenants who become ill or suffer harm because of exposure to secondhand smoke drifting from neighboring units or common areas.
Realizing the many advantages of smoke-free apartments, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, which serves more than 20,000 apartment building owners and managers, has joined UCLA in efforts to enact voluntary smoke-free policies in apartment buildings across Los Angeles.
The UCLA-Smokefree Air for Everyone project aims to increase access to smoke-free apartments in low-income neighborhoods to promote public health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is funding this project, there’s no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The CDC estimates that more than 41,000 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke each year.
In partnership with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, which is leading these efforts, the apartment association is providing apartment owners with the tools and information they need to enact voluntary smoke-free apartment policies across the city.
Hard to ignore
We understand there will be differing opinions, and respect independent business owners and their property rights. At the same time, we believe the significant financial incentives and public health benefits to be gained by apartment owners going smoke free are hard to ignore. Our job is to educate apartment owners about those benefits and streamline the process so that they can make informed decisions.
One thing is clear: When you weigh the benefits of smoke-free apartment housing, along with the financial and public health rewards connected with such a policy, we believe going smoke free is an option apartment owners should embrace. Our job is to facilitate the conversation and provide the means by which owners can take the next steps.
From our perspective, smoke-free apartment housing is an option worth pursuing.
James Clarke is executive vice president of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles.
