For a 3 bedroom single family home the total of the utilitiy allowances for heat, cooking fuel, electric, etc. is $244/month.

Andrew Acuna Ben Wilkins Nicholas Cook Ryan Murdock Thanks for the replies!

I say "should" because there's always the chance the judge is a recreational pot smoker or just sympathetic to their cause. 

If you can't afford to live in a particular city anymore, you complain, you get more jobs - or you move somewhere you can afford.And if you have to spend half of your income on housing - and/or choose to do so in an expensive area, you just cut back on other things.It's not the end of the world to "have to" watch movies on Amazon Prime or Netflix instead of going out, or cooking your own meals at home.I live on practically nothing and I do just fine. 

If you see them smoking in their car before they come to meet you, you can deny them because they are smokers (if that's in your criteria).So, have tough criteria, and apply it evenly to everyone, and you will not likely have to ever rent to a Section 8 tenant.

I can discriminate against smokers by saying "no smokers allowed".

With rent subject to change... what if you start the "non-smoker" out at a lower rent rate and they turn out to be a "smoker" or take up smoking later?

We don't allow pets, smokers or more than 4 people in the house. 

I think renting to a former manager is kind of like dealing with a former smoker.  

Too many landlords are freaked out by allowing a tenant to actually live in a place to the point they try to control every aspect of a tenant's life, do this, can't do that, none of this, you have too much stuff, don't cook this, don't hang pictures use free standing frames on a table......Landlords can get too involved quickly, especially new ones, yes you own the property and tenants have responsibilities to you, but it is a two way street, not one way.