A Bill to Keep DC Apartment Buildings Smoke-Free

• October 30, 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

Last month, a bill was introduced in DC that would ban smoking around rental buildings in the city.

The Rental Housing Smoke Free Common Area Amendment Act of 2018 seeks to amend the Rental Housing Act of 1985 to prohibit smoking of tobacco products in the common areas or within 25 feet of the window or door of a multifamily property.

As part of the bill, property management companies would be able to create a designated smoking area for residents in a common area. Residents found violating the smoking prohibition could get ticketed and fined, but it wouldn't be cause for eviction.

Currently, smoking rules vary from property to property in the city. Many multi-family buildings built after the region banned smoking in restaurants also have adopted a smoke-free policy. The 2014 passage of Initiative 71 that legalized recreational marijuana also brought smoking to the fore as a regulatory issue for multi-family properties; residents of federal housing are prohibited to smoke on the premises by federal law.

This bill is one of several proposed recently to amend the Rental Housing Act. It is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization; a public hearing was held on Monday.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-bill-to-keep-dc-apartment-buildings-smoke-free/14635