Renters for life: Ensuring healthy housing that supports physical well-being for all of our communities

The San Mateo County (California) Tobacco Education Coalition played a key role in supporting the well-known and successful smoke-free housing ordinance developed in Belmont and continues to support a countywide smoke-free housing norm. Focus has now been turned toward ensuring that low income renters are receiving the same smoke-free housing protections that many wealthier renters enjoy due to market demand and increased opportunity for smoke-free options.

Several factors suggest that lower income renters may be more severely affected by secondhand smoke in their apartments because of apartment size, number of families in each unit, and access to preventative health care. Additionally, many local immigrant families who are exposed to constant secondhand smoke exposure hesitate to report it due to fear of retaliation or eviction.

Some resistance to the smoke-free message has arisen from groups that traditionally protect low income families. Concerns about landlords using smoking status to subvert rent control or to evict tenants without other cause have slowed collaboration between public health and tenants rights organizations. Solutions that have been adopted locally include partnering with these organizations as well as asthma coalitions, social justice focused religious groups, and housing affordability groups on joint projects to increase housing habitability in general.

Messaging must continue to focus on the need for safe and smoke-free affordable housing for all families. Partnering with agencies that are focused on low-income advocacy and rewarding landlords who adopt protective policies through media recognition and development of a smoke-free housing website are key to success.