Transforming to Non-smoking

[Christine Swaidan]

We've never had a policy one way or another about smoking. Just recently I have decided that I don't want to deal with the aftermath of our smoking tenants and have started insisting on non-smokers only. Easy to implement whenever we have a turnover in a SFR.

Not as clear to me is how to start this process in multi-family properties where smokers are already in place. For now I have made it known that all new tenants must not smoke. 

Here's my delema.  We are rehabbing a unit and it is one of the few we have with private outdoor space. Current smoker tenant is eyeing it as a possible transfer. Nine months ago she transferred from an upstairs newly refurbished apartment to a downstairs unit. She had been in the first unit only 4 months and it was totally smoked out. Guess the only way to deal with this particular situation is to not allow her to transfer. 

The bigger question is can I just say no to smokers even though we have smokers already living in the building?