Should I rent to a smoker?

[Rizwan Halim]

I have a prospective tenant apply who seems a great fit and is a friend of a friend. I recently found out he is a smoker. I did not even think to ask but instead saw him smoke. I was all ready to rent to him.

1) Should I rent to him?

2) If I deny him, can I tell him that it is because he is a smoker?

Thanks.

[Angie W.]

I say it depends on the area and demographic you are renting in. In the area my rental is in more than half or the renter population smokes. Yet there are still plenty of people who do not allow smoking.

My last tenant did not smoke, however an unapproved girl who moved in did. She obviously had never seen or used an ashtray. The bathroom vanity had a dozen burn marks in it, there were cigarette burns in the carpet and the kitchen tile, and the whole house was covered in a layer of nicotine, with streams of it running down the bathroom walls. There were about 200 cigarette butts all over the front porch. The entire place had to be re-painted, and I had to wash every wall and ceiling to even get the paint to stick.

That being said, I am a smoker, I haven't smoked indoors in 10 years. Back when I did I was as clean as I could be about it, but cigarette smoke penetrates everything, especially in enclosed spaces, no matter how "clean" you are.

Going outside to smoke seems to be more acceptable now. I have now written into my lease that you make smoke outdoors only. Maybe it will deter some, but I think it would be hard to enforce as mentioned above.