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beautiful free hippie girl blowing smoke 159805 104 auto x2 1
beautiful free hippie girl blowing smoke 159805 104 auto x2 1
How To Prove A Tenant Is Smoking In a Building
It usually goes without saying that tenants aren’t allowed to smoke inside the place they’re renting from a landlord. They are told to do it outside, possibly even a short distance away from the outside door. Landlords don’t want to deal with the smoke damage and odor it can cause in their units. If you’ve ever seen a lease agreement before, then you have probably also seen that it said that smoking was not allowed inside the unit. Even though lease agreements prohibit smoking, there are always those people that continue to do it anyway. There are many ways that you can learn how to prove a tenant is smoking in a building.
As cannabis use continues to be legalized across many areas, landlords have to start worrying about people smoking that in their units. There are specific cities across the U.S. where the lease agreement rules need to be updated so that they include cannabis use, as well.
Smoking cigarettes or cannabis inside any building can potentially be a fire hazard that could lead to tremendous damage. There’s a variety of different ways that you can prove if a tenant is smoking inside one of the units. It’s also important to go over the things that a landlord can do to remedy the issue.
Contents
Indicators That A Tenant Might Be Smoking Inside
Figuring out if a tenant in your unit is smoking can be a difficult task. You might have suspicion to believe they are smoking inside, but proving it can be a whole different endeavor altogether. There are some key indicators to look out for that could prove your suspicion to be true.
The Odor
The smoke given off by cigarettes and cannabis will stick around in the air for a while. People try to cover it up with certain sprays, diffusers, or incense, but when they try to cover it up, it leads to even further suspicion. If you enter your tenant’s unit and get a whiff of smoke and always see them having candles or incense lit up every time, then that might be a tell-tale sign they are smoking inside. Overuse of a scented product inside is usually an indicator of them trying to mask another smell – smoke.
While it’s not out of the ordinary for someone to have candles lit up in their place, it might be if the smell of the candles is so strong that you want to instantly leave. The smell of cigarettes usually sticks to people’s clothes and the furniture. If you’re visiting your tenant and take a whiff of a piece of furniture and smell smoke, then that’s a warning sign to keep in mind.
If there’s carpet in the unit, couches, or curtains, take a smell of it and see if there are any traces of smoke fumes coming off it. It’s easy for landlords to take a quick whiff of the carpets or furniture to suspect someone’s smoking, but it’s not easy to get rid of that smell entirely.
Stains From Smoke
Not only does smoke from cigarettes leave a disgusting odor in a unit, but they also tend to create stains all over the place. Smoke can stain walls, curtains, kitchen counters, lamps, and even light fixtures. The stains will typically start off with a light yellow color and over time, they will progress to a darker brown tone. Depending on how much someone has smoked, stains will usually be tiny patches all over a wall. If smoking has been going on for a long time, it can take up a big chunk of the wall.
If there are white shades of paint and wallpaper inside the unit, you’ll be able to spot the smoke stains easier. Smoke stains even tend to affect walls that have just been freshly painted. If you’ve taken a visit to the unit where your tenant is living and notice that the walls have a fresh coat of paint on them without even asking you for permission to do so, that’s a warning sign they’re attempting to mask the cannabis or cigarette smoke.
If you wish to do so, you can state in the lease agreement that tenants aren’t permitted to paint the walls. Even though this can be written in a lease agreement, tenants still tend to break the rules, just like they do with the no-smoking rules. Cannabis smoke doesn’t usually sweat right through the paint as cigarette smoke does, so even if the tenant does repaint the walls, it will only be a temporary fix.
Cannabis Joints And Cigarette Butts In The Unit
If you’re a landlord and, upon visiting one of your units, you noticed a bunch of used cigarette butts lying around, this is an indicator that the tenant is a smoker. Knowing the tenant is a smoker is the first suspicion that could light a warning signal in your brain. Even though the cigarette butts are found outside, there are some tenants that will just save all of the butts and then place them outside just to make it appear that they were only smoking outdoors, even though they very well could’ve been smoking inside.
When you’re doing an annual inspection in the unit that the tenant is living in, keep an eye out for ashtrays or lighters lying around the place. Sometimes you’ll see a dirty mug or bowl sitting in a peculiar area. These are all little things that can raise an alert.
Damage From Burns
You should also keep an eye out for small burns throughout the inspection process. Burns are very hard to hide. Usually, burn marks can be seen on carpets and couches. A tenant would have a very hard time masking a burn on the carpet or couch unless they fully replace it. Sometimes a tenant will just toss a rug to cover up the burn mark. For a landlord, seeing a rug on a patch of carpet can raise some suspicion.
Color Damage From Smoke
Look closely at the walls and door frames when you’re doing your inspection. If you see any suspicious brown or yellow dots surround the doors, these can lead you to believe the tenant has been smoking inside. To get rid of the smoke, a tenant will turn a fan on to try blowing the smoke out a window. The typical places you’ll find these yellow and brown dots are on the door frames near the bathroom or kitchen because of the condensation build-up.
Residue From Smoke
Sometimes heavy chain smokers that smoke multiple times throughout the day will drop ash from their cigarettes and forget to clean it up. Even though tenants will probably always try to clean the place up before a landlord arrives to do an inspection, they might forget about some ash on a window sill, shelves, countertops, or tables. Ash tends to get everywhere once it makes its way through the air, so keep an eye out for it.
Every warning sign you see can begin to add up and signal to you that they are indeed smoking inside the unit. Approaching them about the subject can be tricky because they might think you’re accusing them of something. There are a right way and a wrong way to go about communicating with tenants about smoking inside.
How To Communicate Effectively With Tenants
Bringing up smoking with a tenant can be a touchy subject if they think you don’t have any proof of their smoking activities inside the unit. There’s also a bunch of excuses that the tenant can make if you do bring up proof. There might be some awkwardness and confusion if you all of a sudden tell your tenant to stop smoking inside the unit. It’s easy to spot the warning signs of a smoker, but learning how to approach them in a cordial way about smoking in your unit needs to be done effectively.
The first thing you want to do as a landlord is to go back and re-read your tenancy agreement. You’ll want to ensure that it does say that smoking isn’t permitted inside the unit being rented. Doing this before you approach them will make sure you cover your tracks before approaching the tenant. The majority of tenants already know that smoking isn’t allowed inside, but many will deliberately not abide by them regardless.
If you want to ensure that the tenants are 110% aware of the no-smoking rules inside the units, you could always place a no-smoking sign that’s clear for everyone to see. Not many people enjoy confrontation from a landlord. Approaching the tenant about the issue in the right manner and mindset is the best way to go about it without creating anger or tensions to rise.
If a no-smoking sign has already been hung up somewhere in the building and the tenant still isn’t abiding by it, then you have grounds to get them out of the unit, taking them to small claims court for the repair fee, reminding them how much damage smoke can cause inside the unit, and that you’ll have to repaint all of the walls because of it, which still won’t fix the long-term damages.
The tenant initially signed a tenancy agreement stating that they agree to the terms and regulations of the agreement. With no-smoking inside of that agreement, you could potentially be able to retain their damage deposit to help cover some of the costs of the smoke damage.
Smoke Damage Repair
After seeing all of the smoke damage caused by the tenant that didn’t abide by the rules, you might be in a state of frustration. There’s a couple of steps you can take to attempt to fix the smoke damage that’s been caused. While repairing smoke damage isn’t simple by any means, it’s better than just leaving the situation as is. Getting rid of smoke damage takes a lot of deep cleaning. There’s a good chance that you’ll have to hire a professional cleaning crew to assist with it.
Landlords are like the rest of everyone else, they don’t want to spend money that they don’t necessarily have to spend. Getting a professional cleaning company to deep clean the unit is pretty much a necessity when it comes to getting rid of smoke damage. There’s also a good chance that you’ll have to toss out some of the furniture inside the unit. Carpets might potentially have to be removed if there are any stains or burns on them. Sometimes you can sell the furniture online to people interested in it.
If you want to take it a step further, you can go even beyond a professional cleaning company and hire a smoke damage restoration company instead. This solution will end up costing more, but if the damage is extremely severe, then it might be the best option.
Getting a tenant to follow every rule in the tenancy agreement can be a difficult task to do. Lots of tenants do follow the rules, but it’s nearly impossible to get lucky with every single one.
From the first time you’ve ever had communication with a tenant, you have to be as upfront about the rules as you possibly can. Being clear with all of your communication will help enforce the rules in their minds through repetition. Always make sure you have a copy of the tenancy agreement for your records. Each copy needs to be signed.
Where is Consuming Cannabis Legal?
While cannabis is legal throughout Canada for medicinal and recreational purposes, it’s a little different in the United States. Throughout the U.S., cannabis is starting to broaden its horizons on where it’s legal. If you’re a landlord in the U.S., you need to be aware of these things. There are many states that you can only consume cannabis for medicinal purposes, and other states permit you to use it recreationally.
If you have tenants with disabilities and are given a prescription for medicinal cannabis use, you may potentially want to add a stipulation in the tenancy agreement surrounding cannabis use inside the unit.
What States Is Medicinal Cannabis Legal?
Cigarettes shouldn’t be permitted under any circumstances at all. There isn’t a single medicinal use of cigarettes that will assist in someone’s health. Cannabis laws are changing all of the time, so it’s good for a landlord to be completely informed on the rules.
Proactive Things A Landlord Can Do
In addition to paying attention to the signs of tenant smoking listed above, there’s also a couple of other things a landlord can do to take a proactive approach to this subject. Preventive measures are things that can be done so that your housing units never have to deal with smoke damage.
Install Smoke Detectors
A lot of people think that the only purpose of having a smoke detector is to signal you if a fire begins. While this is true, the other purpose of a smoke detector is to alert you of smoke. Smoke detectors are able to detect cannabis and cigarette smoke, in addition to regular smoke, as well. Getting a smoke detector installed might be expensive at first, but this preventative measure could potentially save you a lot of money in the long run if a tenant decides to smoke in a unit that creates thousands and thousands of dollars in smoke damage
Display Signs
As stated before, you’ll want appropriate signage in visible areas throughout the building. Keeping signs close to tenant mailboxes is a good area where they have no choice but to see. Another ideal location for no-smoking signs is right at the entrance and exits of the building.
Fines Regarding Smoking
Another good preventative approach you can take is to inform the tenants renting the unit that there are fines involved if they are caught smoking inside. The majority of cities have zones where you can and cannot smoke. If the tenant is in a non-smoking zone such as your unit, then they could be granted a fine.
Do Regular Inspections Of Your Properties
A lot of tenants decide to smoke inside during the nighttime hours or when it’s cold outside. If you have a staff member onsite, you could ask them to do routine checks around the building. Most tenants won’t ever see this coming. Ensure that this strategy isn’t done on a routine basis, or else the tenant will just change around when they smoke and learn to avoid the times when someone is doing their rounds.
Specify What Areas Are Suitable For Smoking In
If you let the tenants know what areas around the building outside they can smoke in, they might be more prone to follow the rules. Doing this has zero costs involved. You can even specify it in the tenancy agreement that they sign off on.
If you want to take things a step further, you can even put a couple of chairs and a small table outside to make their smoking area more appealing. Tenants that smoke usually appreciate a landlord that will take proactive measures in ensuring their comfort, so this is another positive way to go about it.
Not only does this method give tenants a place to smoke in, but it also gives them an opportunity to meet new acquaintances while they’re at it. If people are living alone, it can be seen as a way to get out and make some new friends. Ensure that the area states that it is specifically designated as a smoking area so that non-smokers won’t get the idea that it’s just a patio on the property.
Final Thoughts
Learning these few things will ensure that your confrontation with a smoking tenant will go smoothly. The confrontation is usually the hardest part, but if you know 100% that the tenant is smoking, then you know that you’re not just blindly accusing them of something. Whatever you do, you want to steer away from any wrongful accusations.
Following the discussed preventative measures is a useful approach to avoid dealing with a smoking tenant altogether. Following one or all of the approaches can increase your chances of success.
If you’ve exhausted all of your options and have repeatedly confronted a tenant about their smoking inside of the unit and they still aren’t abiding by the rules, then you can evict them or even include law enforcement into the situation. No landlord wants a tenant that doesn’t abide by any of the rules stipulated in the tenancy agreement.