Having smokers in your property, especially when there are many other tenants around, can cause distress on the non-smokers. Golden Assets and Property Management LLC (GAPM) advices property owners to lay out smoking conditions to tenants when smoking within the rental property.
Due to widespread information about the harmful effects that cigarette smoke can cause to our health, people are becoming more and more sensitive to exposure to cigarette smoke. Having a few smokers in your rental property may aggravate some other tenants, conditions and limitations have to be clearly laid out.
How can “smoking” affect your rental property?
Cigarette smoke can affect your rental property in many ways, namely:
- Damage to the property
- Prolong the rental property’s vacancy
- Drive away other tenants
The smell of the cigarettes can seep deep, deep into the walls and the flooring. In some cases, when the room occupant is a heavy smoker or chain smoker, the whole room needs to be restored. The carpets, curtains, furniture may have to be replaced, while the floor and walls have to be peeled and then repainted.
Slight darkening or burn marks from cigarette ash may also be visible for lighter colored furniture or covering.
Some tenants who are not comfortable with cigarette smoke may be turned off by the smell. This can prolong your property’s vacancy.
How to deal with smoking tenants
As the landlord, you can’t predict who will smoke or when he/she will start smoking. It isn’t always enough to just verbally warn them off or by putting up signs around the property. Smoking is a personal habit and not something that any landlord can stop.
One way to effectively offer legal protection and insurance to the property owner is by adding an anti-smoking clause in the lease. It should be laid out clearly in the lease important details such as where a tenant is allowed to smoke and where a tenant is not allowed to smoke. Take note that the property has to be mapped out well to ensure clear understanding of where the smoker’s right to smoke starts and ends. Taking this precaution can save you a lot of money in the future.
If you’re a property owner in Las Vegas who wishes to keep a smoke-free rental property, hiring the right property management service company can save you time and money in the long run.
Golden Assets & Property Management LLC (GAPM) is the leading property management service company in Las Vegas. Subsequently, we have properties ranked as smoke-free or non-smoking. To know more about us and our Golden Advantage, check out our website or give any member of our company a call at 702-651-8886.