Rentals - Smoke Free Housing Ontario

You will find resources and tools to assist with second-hand smoke or implementing a no-smoking policy in your building below:

Landlord Resources

A Landlord & Property Manager’s Guide to Smoke-Free Housing in English and French
The Business Case for Smoke-Free Housing in English and French
How to Implement a No-Smoking Policy for Multi-Unit Housing
Smoke-Free Housing (YouTube video)
Standard lease language for smoking rules
Human Rights and No-Smoking Policies for Multi-Unit Housing
Landlord’s Self-Help Centre, a non-profit community legal clinic for small Ontario landlords, provides information, advice and referrals.
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Policy on Human Rights and Rental Housing
Can the Smell of Second-Hand Smoke Constitute Damage?

Sample Tools for Landlords

Tenant survey
Tenant warning letter
Tenant notification letterfor no-smoking policy
Resident manager notification letter
Log sheet to track how concerns were addressed
Press release

Signage

Welcome to our Smoke-free Building sign example 1
Welcome to our Smoke-free Building sign example 2
This Unit is Smoke-Free sign
This building is transitioning to smoke-free housingsign

Cannabis Cultivation

Cannabis Cultivation Fact Sheet

Tenant Resources

Second-Hand Smoke in Multi-Unit Housing: A Tenant’s Guide
Legal Aid Ontario – Legal aid is available to low income individuals and disadvantaged communities for poverty law issues such as landlord and tenant disputes.
Human Rights Legal Support Centre offers legal services such as assistance filing an application for the Landlord and Tenant Board and representation on human rights applications for people who believe they have experienced discrimination.
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario defends low-income renters and co-op members.

Sample Tools for Tenants

Log sheet to trackexposure to second-hand smoke
Complaint letter
Physician letter
Checklist for Landlord and Tenant Board hearing
Human Rights and No-Smoking Policies for Multi-Unit Dwellings

Cessation Supports

Telehealth Ontario 1-866-797-00003 provides free confidential access to a trained Quit Specialist by phone to provide support quitting smoking
Interpreters are available
Smokers’ Helpline Online Support provides tips, tools and support to quit smoking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Smokers’ Helpline Text Support – text iQuit to 123456 to received support from a live Quit Coach during business hours and text messages customized to your quit date
Smokers’ Helpline Quit Map lists programs and services for quitting smoking by location
STOP on the Road provides free nicotine replacement therapy and counselling support
Local Public Health Unit provides free smoking cessation support

It's simply the right thing to do and, from what our buyers have said on our last two projects, they unanimously embrace this feature.

Providing healthy living spaces, increasing fire safety, lowering turnover costs, and ensuring tenants satisfaction is important to us. As a supportive housing provider, offering smoke-free housing helps us accomplish these goals.

Smoke-free housing policies protect residents from harmful tobacco smoke exposure and also support smokers who want to reduce or quit smoking.

I am one of the truly blessed now to be safe in affordable smoke-free housing.

After spending thousands of dollars trying to prevent second-hand smoke from infiltrating units, it became apparent the only and best solution was to make the 90-unit condominium a smoke-free facility. Smoke free makes us more attractive to future residents.

It should be noted though that the process wasn’t easy…neighbours encouraged neighbours and ... clean air prevailed.