Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: Is it legal to smoke in apartments with shared ventilation?

Answer: The terms and conditions of the rental agreement generally determine whether or not a tenant is permitted to smoke within a unit or inside the building. However, under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (A.R.S. Title 33 Chapter 10), regardless of what the rental agreement between the landlord and the tenant actually says or does not say, every residential tenant is required by law to “conduct himself and require other persons on the premises with his consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises” (A.R.S. 33-1341). If a tenant’s neighbor’s smoking is disturbing that tenant’s “peaceful enjoyment” of his/her unit or the building, then that tenant may wish to send written notification to the landlord – in the form of a signed and dated letter – describing the nature of the problem in detail and requesting that the landlord do something to fix it, as per the landlord’s duty.