A Franklin apartment complex wants to move to eventually ban smoking in all of its units, with the hope of attracting new residents.
City View Farm Apartments in Franklin wants to eventually not allow residents to smoke inside their apartments. But actually making that change will take time, especially with long-time renters who smoke, spokesperson Natalie Kahlenbeck said.
That’s why they are planning to ease into the process, she said.
“We do have some long-term residents, and some of them might be smokers,” Kehlenbeck said. “So, that’s why we can’t jump into it.”
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At least three local apartment complexes are considering banning smoking inside their units, a change that is getting a national push. At the end of the month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will require public subsidized housing to go tobacco-free.
Tobacco Free Johnson County, an organization that focuses on promoting quitting smoking and getting public buildings to become smoke-free, is now working with apartment complexes to try to get them to go tobacco free. All apartment complexes in Johnson County currently allow smoking.
Second-hand smoke is a key reason to promote smoke-free housing in Johnson County, Tobacco Program Coordinator Nancy Voris said.
“A big concern is, of course, children. They are more susceptible to smoke than adults,” Voris said.
When living in a multi-unit complex, the air is shared between apartments, and smoke can travel, said Cathy Blume of the American Lung Association. Blume is working with Tobacco Free Johnson County to encourage smoke-free apartments.
“If someone can smell what their neighbor is cooking, then they can just as easily become a victim of second-hand smoke,” Blume said.
Going tobacco-free will not only benefit renters, but also the apartment complex managers, Voris said.
Apartment complexes can spend as much as $3,500 fixing damages caused by smoking in an apartment, according to research done by Smoke-Free Housing Indiana.
“We are not pressuring apartment management to go smoke-free, just providing them with information and guidance,” Voris said. “They know the risk of fire and the increased costs of maintenance in units with smokers.”
Tobacco smoke can also leave residue, burns and odors in the apartment unit, Voris said.
“If you have a picture on the wall that’s there for years, and you take it down, it’s nice and pretty behind it, but then around, you’ll see a yellow outline,” she said.
Three apartment complexes in the county have expressed interest in transitioning, City View Farm Apartments in Franklin, Devonshire Luxury Apartments in Greenwood and Franklin North Village, Voris said.
Another complex had expressed interest, but declined because they had some long-time renters who smoked, she said.
“It’s also competitive. They don’t want to lose those renters,” Voris said.
But Kehlenbeck thinks that even if an apartment complex loses some renters, they might gain new residents.
“It would be like a new community,” Kehlenbeck said. “I feel like smoke-free is a plus.”
The tobacco-free initiative is voluntary, Voris said, so there is no definitive timeline to when Johnson County will see smoke-free apartments.
With the county being a popular suburb for Indianapolis commuters, Blume said people looking to move to the area often call and ask her about available smoke-free housing.
“With all these places going smoke-free now, people are moving and expecting housing to be smoke-free,” she said.
