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May 30, 2008
Apartment Smoking Ban Nearing Close to Home
A law that would let landlords prohibit smoking in apartment buildings to protect tenants from secondhand smoke passed in the state senate Thursday -- it next goes to the state assembly, reports the LA Times.
"Current law is silent with respect to a landlords' ability to impose a smoking ban," said Monica Williamson of the California Apartment Assn., which supports the senate bill and represents 50,000 property owners. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), who introduced SB 1598, left out rent-controlled apartments and requires landlords to give a 12-month notice.
Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine) and other Republicans said it was against public will. "The vast majority of all renters, including . . . nonsmokers, are opposed to it." He based his "public will" and "majority" references on an Apartments.com survey.
Photo by Funkman via Flickr
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whats next they tell me I can't drink in my own house?
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Awesome. Yet more 'nanny' laws to infect this state.
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What, exactly, is a "nanny law" about it? It would give landlords the RIGHT to ban smoking in buildings they OWN. It would not REQUIRE them to do so. The only anti-smoking-ban arguments I've ever heard that have any merit at all are about individual rights. This law confirms an individual's right to ban smoking in a building that he or she owns. If, as the Republicans argue, the public doesn't want it, the landlords won't exercise that right, because their interest in owning apartment buildings is to rent them out and make money.
You two should have a cigarette and calm down. Outside.
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atrane: "whats next they tell me I can't drink in my own house?"
As long as you don't burn the alcohol and share the vapors with the same ventilation as your neighbors it shouldn't be a problem.
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As a non-smoker, I HATE living next to smokers in apartment buildings. The smoke seeps through vents and before long you feel like you're living with a smoker in your own house, even though it's the person next door. I'd love this law.
Besides the health reasons, I think landlords could probably have a case regarding their property values. I have friends who bought a house from a smoker. Long-term cigarette smoke can discolor walls...maybe not a big deal if you repaint every few years, but my friends stripped some wallpaper and discovered brown stains that had damaged the walls so severely they eventually had to re-drywall the walls.
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What a silly law, especially in a city who's air already has such a high concentration of particulate matter. I fear that this may open the door for some truly egregious landlord shenanigans by creating an additional legal avenue for landlords to intimidate and harass tenants.
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Damage from secondhand smoke is exaggerated.
That said, at least it gives the the owners the choice of whether they want to ban smoking or not. Bar and restaurant should have the same option.