What amenities do you want in a rental property? Laundry, gym, good location? Are you forgetting the most important thing? Add Smoke Free to your list. Wapello County residents should consider smoke free housing when choosing a rental property. Protecting their family’s health should also be a consideration. Choosing to rent in a smoke free building is a healthy living choice. Even if you don’t personally smoke, secondhand smoke from other renters, along with its health impacts, travels through all the units in a multi-unit building. 

It is clear renters prefer smoke free housing. Over 80% of all Iowans are non-smokers and 87% of Iowa renters say they would choose to live in a non-smoking building. Smoke free buildings benefit both the renter and the property owner. Landlords who choose to go smoke free receive free advertising on the Iowa Smoke Free Homes Registry and they save money. On average, landlords pay $1,233 more to renovate a unit whose previous tenant was a smoker versus a unit of a non-smoker.

There are more than 18,000 smoke free rental units listed on the Smoke Free Homes Registry; a property must have at least one building that is 100% smoke free and must have this specified in the lease language. Residents of a smoke free property who smoke are given information about Quitline Iowa (1-800-QUIT-NOW) to help them quit smoking. To see the properties listed on the registry, visit https://smokefreehomes.iowa.gov. For assistance in having your property go smoke free,

Contact:

Lisa McConnell
Tobacco Prevention Specialist
Behavioral Health and Treatment Services
Sieda Community Action
641-329-4182