Why Landlords May Wish to Think Twice Before Allowing Smokers as Tenants
Published on June 2, 2016 by Sarah Mac
UK law does not prohibit smoking in a rented property unless there are communal areas where it is banned. However, if you are a landlord who allows tenants to smoke in your property, you are not doing yourself any favours. Although you may think allowing smoking gives you a wider choice of potential tenants, you would be better off if you included a clause in your tenancy agreements to ban smoking altogether.
How Much Damage is Caused by Indoor Smoking?
According to Pat Barber, chair of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), “Landlords and agents will have to redecorate properties that have had smoking tenants, sooner than non-smoking tenants. The life expectancy of walls exposed to smoking is up to five years less than walls that are not exposed to smoking.”
Nicotine stained walls and ceilings are not the only problems associated with smoking. Window sills and frames can be tar stained too, even burn marks have been known where cigarettes have been put down on a windowsill rather than in an ashtray. And burn holes in carpets, curtaining, mattresses and soft furnishings are common. These constitute a significant fire risk as well, especially if a tenant is in danger of falling asleep while smoking in bed. The smell alone will be difficult to eradicate on a change of tenancy.
What Can you Do if you Are Suspicious About Smoking?
If it clearly states in a tenancy agreement that smoking is not permitted, then if at the end of a tenancy there is damage caused by smoking, it is within your rights for you to have the tenant pay for it. You may want to evict the tenant before that if you become aware that smoking has taken place in the property. After all the tenant would be in breach of the tenancy agreement if it stated that the property is a non-smoking one. Whether such an eviction would stand up in court would depend on the circumstances. At the very least, the tenant should be liable for deep cleaning, deodorising and making good the areas affected.
What to do if you Prefer to Allow Smoking
Even if you want to allow smoking on the premises and include this in the tenancy agreement, damage caused by smoking is not considered to be fair wear and tear. To avoid being out of pocket through putting it right, you need to make allowances for the extra expense and take a higher deposit and rent to cover any damage caused by tenants that smoke.
It still means more time will be taken to carry out the extra work needed to make the place good for the next tenant. This will be ‘dead’ time when you could otherwise be earning from another tenancy, so that also needs to be taken into consideration.
As you can see, there is much to think about before you decide whether or not to allow smoking in your property, so take your time before making your decision.