Usually yes. Smokers are not a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act, and neither Ontario's nor BC's Human Rights Code lists smoking as a ground. Most landlords do better with a written no-smoking clause than with refusing smokers outright, because the clause is enforceable and the refusal is hard to apply evenly. This is information, not legal advice.
Is smoking a protected class?
No. The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604, bars refusing to rent because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or handicap. Smoking is not on the list. In Ontario, the Human Rights Commission's rental housing policy lists the Code grounds, from race and creed to age and receipt of public assistance, and smoking is not among them either. BC's Human Rights Code list does not include it.
The group is not small. The CDC reports that 49.2 million US adults, 19.8 percent, used a tobacco product in 2022. A blanket refusal turns away about one adult in five before you see the rest of the file.
Is it better to refuse smokers or ban smoking?
Ban smoking. A no-smoking clause governs what happens in the unit, which is the thing that costs you money. It applies to every tenant, guest and future roommate, and a breach is a lease violation you can act on. A rule against renting to smokers relies on an applicant's answer, does nothing once someone in the household starts smoking, and is easy to apply unevenly.
Uneven application is where the risk sits. If a smoking question is asked only of certain applicants, or a "smoker" answer sinks one file and is waved through on another, the pattern can start to track a protected class. Our fair-housing screening checklist covers how to write criteria that hold up.
What did HUD's smoke-free public housing rule require?
HUD's rule Instituting Smoke-Free Public Housing, effective February 3, 2017, gave public housing agencies 18 months to ban prohibited tobacco products in living units, indoor common areas, administrative offices and outdoor areas within 25 feet of the buildings. HUD estimated it covered over 700,000 units.
The rule bans smoking in places, not smokers as people. HUD wrote that it "does not prohibit individual PHA residents from smoking" and that agencies "should continue leasing to persons who smoke." It applies to public housing, not to a private owner taking a Housing Choice Voucher, but it is the clearest federal model for a private smoke-free policy.
Can a BC landlord make a rental smoke-free?
Yes, if it is in the tenancy agreement. The Province's page on smoking and cannabis during a tenancy, updated March 4, 2026, says a landlord can require a smoke and vape-free unit, but the requirement must be stated in the agreement. Without the clause, tenants may smoke or vape in their units and on balconies.
Two details catch landlords out. A no-smoking clause signed before October 17, 2018 covers smoking cannabis but not vaping it. And in a multi-unit building, provincial rules keep smoking and vaping 6 metres from doorways, open windows and air intakes, whatever the lease says.
What about Ontario?
Smoking is not a Code ground in Ontario, and a no-smoking term in the lease is the usual tool. The duty to accommodate still applies. A tenant whose smoking relates to a disability, or a medical cannabis user, may ask for an accommodation, and the request has to be considered, not dismissed. Our post on whether a landlord can ask about disability covers how to handle that request.
How should a property manager put this into practice?
- Decide the policy per property: no smoking in units, on balconies, in common areas, or all three.
- State it in the listing in plain words: "This is a non-smoking property."
- Put the clause in every lease, and name vaping and cannabis separately.
- Answer the "can I smoke here?" question the same way for every prospect.
- Route accommodation requests to a person, not a yes or no reply.
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Smokers and rentals: FAQ
Can a landlord ask if I smoke on the application?
Yes, in most places, because smoking is not a protected class. The question only helps if every applicant gets it and the answer is weighed the same way. A written no-smoking clause does more work than the answer does.
Can a landlord evict a tenant for smoking?
Only if the lease bans it. In BC, a tenant who keeps smoking in breach of a no-smoking clause can have the tenancy ended, and pays for smoke damage. Without the clause, BC tenants may smoke in their units and on balconies.
Does a no-smoking clause cover vaping and cannabis?
Only if it says so. In BC, a clause written before October 17, 2018 covers smoking cannabis but not vaping it. Name tobacco, cannabis and vaping in the clause so nothing is left to argue about.
