Tenants buy into ban on smoking
Those moving into social housing units must sign smoke-free leases
If Ouellette Manor tenant Joe Findlay was moving into his subsidized apartment today, he would be required to sign a lease promising to never smoke in his unit. Even on the balcony.
“If they said, ‘You can’t smoke,’ I’d pay the rent and just smoke,” the longtime smoker vowed Thursday, remarking on the new smoke-free policy that started Jan. 1 for all Windsor Essex Community Housing Corp. (CHC) buildings. But chief operating officer Kirk Whittal said there actually hasn’t been much opposition to the new policy among the people living in its 4,707 units throughout Windsor and Essex County. “And I’ll say I’m pleasantly surprised by that.” Current tenants who smoke aren’t raising much of a stink, in part because the new rule only applies to new tenants who sign a lease from Jan. 1 on. With 10 per cent annual turnover, Whittal expects it will take 10 years or more for almost all the units to become entirely smoke-free.
“It’s not like we’re flipping a switch and here you go,” he said, explaining that CHC is following the successful lead of other social housing corporations across the province that have been going smoke-free with fewer complaints than they expected. Walking through the halls of 400-unit Ouellette Manor, you would think — judging by the odour — every tenant smokes, he said. But the majority don’t, and the new rule is meant to lessen the health impacts on non-smokers, decrease the risk of fires, reduce maintenance costs and encourage healthy living.
Whittal estimated the CHC has about one significant fire annually caused by careless smoking, endangering and displacing residents and causing damage that can cost $100,000 to repair. When a smoker moves out, it probably costs at least $1,000 extra just to add an extra coat of stain-covering primer to the smoke-stained walls, and more if stinky carpets have to be replaced.
On Thursday, staff from the Windsor Essex County Health Unit held a quit-smoking program in the building ’s common room in concert with the new smoke-free policy. About 20 tenants attended, keen to end addictions that have lasted 50 years or longer. “Honestly, I think it’s going OK, they’re not as disgruntled as you would think,” public health nurse Heather Gartner told the Star, prior to starting the three-hour workshop STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) that included handing out a box with five weeks of nicotine patches worth $150. Several tenants who attended the workshop said they were fine with the new smoke-free policy.
“It doesn’t affect us, but I still want to quit,” said Brenda Schmidt, 65, who’s been sidelined in recent years by smoking-related pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She said the new policy is fair because smoking is a bad thing that kills people and costs the government money. “It’s time to get rid of the cancer sticks,” she declared. Another smoker hoping to quit, Doug Hart, said non-smokers have the right to not have other people’s smoke migrating into their apartments. But he also believes the new policy is unenforceable. Non-smoking tenant Ray Blondin said he agrees with what the CHC is trying to do, “but you can’t enforce it here.”
Public affairs manager Kari Schofield said when staff began contemplating the new policy – a process that took three years – the biggest concern was enforcement. “We have no intention of conducting sniff tests, we don’t have the staff to do that, but we will be responding to complaints we receive,” she said. Eviction would be a last resort after repeated complaints, she said.
“This is not about telling people that they need to quit and this is not about forcing tenants to quit and it doesn’t prohibit smokers from renting accommodation,” said Schofield. “It’s a choice.” The smoke-free rule would also apply to smoking medical marijuana and recreational marijuana once it’s legal.
The 2006 Smoke-Free Ontario Act already outlaws smoking in a building ’s halls, common areas, laundry rooms, elevators and stairwells. The new policy will now prohibit new tenants from smoking outdoors on their balconies. For tenants renting townhouses, they can’t smoke in their front and backyards, and the rule applies to visitors as well.
The only way people can identify a smoke-free unit is a four-by-four-inch decal on the inside of the front door saying “Welcome to a smoke-free home.”
The CHC has notified the first 300 applicants on its 4,000-name waiting list about the new smokefree policy that they’ll have to agree to in their lease. Schofield said there have been few complaints from new tenants who have moved in since Jan. 1.
Both public and private landlords have been implementing smoke-free policies in recent years. A tenant who smokes has the option of looking for a landlord who allows smoking.
“But if you’re living in social housing, usually it’s because you don’t have much of a choice, you can’t afford market rent,” said Anna Colombo, a lawyer with Legal Assistance of Windsor. “So you have no choice but to accept this (no smoking) term.” Whittal said the fact of the matter is the majority of people don’t smoke (only 17 per cent of the local population are daily smokers), and their health can be impacted by living next to a smoker. “So whose rights supersedes the other’s rights?” he asked. “I’m not saying you don’t have the right to smoke, you just don’t have the right to smoke within your home.”