4th
Nov 2019
According to government data it is claimed that over half of UK smokers (54%) are private tenants, and an online property management firm offers the following advice to landlords on how best to minimise the problem.
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The firm says that obviously smoking may devalue any property because of the long standing effect from the build up of nicotine and chemicals on floors, furnishings, furniture, surfaces and most notably the walls; needless to say it is a major fire risk.
The firm says that landlords can always include a statement in their adverts saying that smokers are not allowed they can always have a clause in their tenancy agreement stating that smoking is not permitted; if a tenant asks permission to smoke it can always be turned down.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “If you are a landlord of an HMO, shared areas of the property are impacted by the Smoke Free Law of 2017, which makes it illegal to smoke in publicly enclosed spaces."
However if a tenant smokes inside the property contrary to the landlords instructions, then the first step should be to tell them that this is not allowed, and to commit any further breaches. The other major problem is that if the landlord's insurance is set for non-smoking tents, then any smoking incurred damage cannot be claimed.
The spokesperson continued: “If they continue to heavily smoke indoors despite warnings, you could ask them for a larger deposit to cover the cost of refurbishing the place once they leave. You could also hike their rent after the fixed term finishes, which should compensate for the damage or persuade them to leave."
However the firm warns landlords that if they attempt to evict a tenant because of their smoking will involve legal proceedings with an uncertain result.
Chief executive for the management firm Calum Brannan, said: “Having a heavy smoker in your property isn’t necessarily something to be avoided, but should that person be unable to respect your wishes and smoke outside, it could cause more than friction and in fact, dent the profitability of your rental investment.”
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