Do you smoke and live in public housing?

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Smoking is banned in public housing across the country as of July 30, 2018.

You cannot use:

• cigarettes,

• cigars, pipes, and

• hookahs (water pipes).

• Your housing authority may have banned Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), too.

You cannot use tobacco products:

• in any public housing units,

• interior common areas, or

• outdoor areas within 25 feet of residential and office buildings (but see the next item).

• Your housing authority may have banned smoking in other areas, too, or may have made the entire grounds smoke-free.

Interior common areas include, but are not limited to:

• hallways,

• rental and administrative offices,

• community centers,

• day care centers,

• laundry centers,

• and similar structures.

You will have to:

• sign a lease amendment if you want to continue to live in public housing, and

• make sure that all members of your household, your guests and other persons under your control do not smoke in restricted areas or in outdoor areas designated smoke-free.

You could be evicted if you break the no-smoking rules. You would be violating a provision of your lease.

If you are facing eviction for breaking this rule, apply online for free legal assistance or call 603 Legal Aid at 603-224-3333.

Get free help to quit smoking from:

• National Quitline: 1-800-Quitnow

• American Lung Association Tobacco Quitline: 1-800-LUNGUSA

• American Cancer Society, Get Help Quitting Tobacco

Try also reading…

• To withhold rent or not to withhold rent? That is the question

• Tenant’s rights overview

• Fair Housing Laws

• Rental Housing and Service Animals: ADA and FHAA- when does each apply?

• Saving Your Personal Property Left in Apartment

• Filing a Petition Under RSA 540-A

• Discovery in Landlord and Tenant Cases

• Bed Bugs in New Hampshire & The Law

Date: August 2018

Author: Adapted from The National Housing Law Project