A friend of mine in the real estate industry called me the other day and asked me if it is legal for a landlord to prohibit smoking in an apartment. She was concerned about fair housing laws, and with good reason. Real estate agents need to be extremely careful about what they put into a listing for lease to make sure it does not violate those fair housing laws. Luckily, smoking is not classified as an immutable characteristic of birth and “smokers” are not a protected class under fair housing, so a landlord can implement a “no smoking” rule.
