Landlords demand tenants quit smoking or lease will not be renewed notice

[Xxandera]

Dear Tenants:
We were informed that Zion Way apartments will soon become a non-smoking apartment complex. We encourage you to quit smoking so that when the times comes you will be able to stay in your apartment. If you have not quit smoking when the nonsmoking rule becomes effective, you will be given the opportunity to quit until your lease comes up for yearly renewal. If you are still smoking when you lease comes up for renewal, we will not renew .v-our lease.
We appreciate your help in this matter.
Sincerely, Management


Is this even legal. State of Utah

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Yes, it is. In fact, it is being promoted by the state.

health.utah.gov/epi/community/smokefree/SFHousing_2012.pdf

 

[Xxandera]

Yes, it is. In fact, it is being promoted by the state.

health.utah.gov/epi/community/smokefree/SFHousing_2012.pdf

They knew this before I moved in. Why is it legal to throw out smokers if you smoke off property? What I do off property is no one's business but my own?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

If you don't smoke on the property it shouldn't be an issue. I'm pretty sure the actual lease won't say you can't be a smoker it will say you can't smoke on the property.

You've written nothing to show they knew they were going to do this when you moved in.

 

[LdiJ]

They knew this before I moved in. Why is it legal to throw out smokers if you smoke off property? What I do off property is no one's business but my own?

Realistically though, what kind of lifestyle are you going to enjoy if you can only smoke off property? You will end up being just as miserable as you would be quitting. Unless of course we are talking about some other kind of smoking.

 

[DeenaCA]

Have you asked the property managers whether the smoking ban applies to off-property smoking? Perhaps the notice was poorly worded.

If this is the Zion Way development in Richfield, it's a low-income property subsidized by low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and HUD Multifamily funding. Neither of those programs have mandatory smoking bans (yet), but HUD has been urging Multifamily properties to go smoke-free for years. More information is available here.

 

[Zigner]

If this is the Zion Way development in Richfield, it's a low-income property subsidized by low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and HUD Multifamily funding. Neither of those programs have mandatory smoking bans (yet), but HUD has been urging Multifamily properties to go smoke-free for years. More information is available here.

The introductory paragraph on your link states (in part): "Furthermore, December 5, 2016, HUD published a final rule for each Public Housing Agency administering low-income, conventional public housing to initiate a smoke-free policy. The effective date of the Rule is February 3, 2017, and it provides an 18-month implementation period. All PHAs must have a smoke-free policy in place by July 31, 2018." (emphasis added)

 

[Zigner]

Dear Tenants:
We were informed that Zion Way apartments will soon become a non-smoking apartment complex. We encourage you to quit smoking so that when the times comes you will be able to stay in your apartment. If you have not quit smoking when the nonsmoking rule becomes effective, you will be given the opportunity to quit until your lease comes up for yearly renewal. If you are still smoking when you lease comes up for renewal, we will not renew .v-our lease.
We appreciate your help in this matter.
Sincerely, Management


Is this even legal. State of Utah

As mentioned above, this applies to your housing, not when you leave your housing.

 

[DeenaCA]

It's true that the smoke-free rule for "conventional public housing" went into effect on July 31. That rule does not apply to HUD Multifamily housing, which is privately-owned rather than owned by the public housing agency.

If i looked up the correct Zion Way Apartments, it's HUD Multifamily. HUD "strongly encourages" Multifamily owners and agents to implement smoke-free policies. But there's a strong possibility that there's more than one development named "Zion Way" in Utah.