What Colorado's Clean Indoor Air Act Means for Landlords -How an Odor Management Plan Including an Odor Blocking Paint is Vital

The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act was first passed in 2006 and was updated in 2013 to include the smoking of marijuana. Basically, the Act protects individuals in indoor spaces from the effects of smoking. The act is particularly important for landlords to understand because it provides a baseline protection that must be offered in public spaces.

Communal Spaces Must Be Smoke-Free

The act specifically outlines that communal spaces must be smoke-free. This rule applies to any space that is common to inhabitants of multiple residences such as a lobby, hallway, elevator, or stairwell. The law does not limit a landlord’s ability to put further smoking restrictions on the property, however. While the law makes room for private residence spaces to allow smoking, a landlord has the right to restrict smoking within apartments or houses under their ownership or management.

While some landlords fear that creating no-smoking policies will make it harder to rent, surveys show that most potential tenants prefer non-smoking spaces and 52% even reported being willing to pay more to live in a smoke-free space.

How to Law Impacts Potential Tenants

If you are attempting to rent out a house or apartment to new tenants, their expectations about smoke odor will likely be influenced by their previous experiences as tenants. Many places not only put smoking restrictions on communal spaces but also on private residences. This means that the odor of cigarette or marijuana smoke is going to be a negative sign to many potential tenants. They will certainly expect communal spaces to be free of such odors, but they will likely also be negatively impacted by the odor in private residential spaces.

What Can Be Done

If you are renting a space that has cigarette or marijuana odor lingering in either communal spaces or private residential spaces, it is very important that you address these issues before trying to rent to a new tenant. It is not enough to simply mask the smell temporarily as tenants who end up living in the space will be very disappointed if the odor returns once they have moved in (as was the case for this unfortunate new homeowner). In addition, the dangers of third-hand smoke are now well-documented, and many potential tenants will have serious health concerns if they suspect that their space is contaminated.

Instead, landlords need to make sure that the space is actually free of smoke odors. There are several steps that can be taken:

Institute smoke-free policies for all living spaces—communal and private.
Make sure that any private spaces where smoking is allowed are located in a separate portion of the building and use a separate ventilation or HVAC system from non-smoking places.
Consider avoiding fabrics in spaces where smoking is allowed to reduce surfaces for third-hand smoke to linger.
Have any spaces impacted by cigarette or marijuana smoke odors professionally cleaned by experts before showing to potential new tenants.
Replace all fabrics (carpets, curtains, etc.) in spaces where smoking has occurred.
Repaint all surfaces in spaces where smoking has occurred with an Odor Blocking Paint

With increased knowledge of the hazards of third-hand smoke and the expectations set by the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, landlords will need to address smoking policies and cleaning procedures to ensure positive future relationships with tenants.

Odor Management Plan for Apartments in Colorado

Many in the United States rejoiced when marijuana became legal first in Colorado, followed quickly by other states. However, owners and managers of multi-family units that are experienced in repainting units due to smokers collectively groaned. Even most avid smokers agree that smoke, whether from cigarettes or marijuana, has a terrible odor. Unfortunately, this odor seeps into the paint on the walls. Ridding the unit of the smell is no longer as easy as slapping on another coat of regular paint.

Landlords need a valid, effective strategy to manage smoke contamination. Marijuana smoke drifts, which means it does not stay in the unit it originates in. Property owners, managers, and even residents may be concerned about this, as many “claim the stench of weed disrupts their quality of life, lowers their property values and causes problems for people with respiratory issues such as asthma.” Keeping this in mind, it is clear why having an odor management plan for these units is critical.

Odor Management Plans

Remediation tactics are costly; thus, property owners and managers should be prepared to manage odor as it comes. Since discrimination based on cannabis use is illegal, having a plan based on management in place is your best bet. However, odor management can be tricky. If you get in over your head, that is totally understandable! There are professionals available who can help you set up the right plan to manage cannabis-related odors, or to help you get your property equipped with the right paint that this will not be an issue. ECOBOND® OdorDefender® is a professional-grade Eco-friendly, odor-blocking paint designed for sealing, blocking & absorbing existing dangerous odors and fumes from the effects of cigarette smoke, pot smoke, fire, as well as pet odors and substantially improves indoor air quality.

Continued Legalization of Marijuana Raises the Need for Odor Control

Possession and use of Marijuana is now legal in a majority of the states. Many state legislatures have adopted sweeping legislation that has increased the amount of marijuana consumed in the US. The federal department responsible for monitoring marijuana has released statistics that show a double-digit annual usage increase. For example, there was a 7.3 percent increase in the number of people who smoked marijuana between 2011 and 2012. Middle aged persons are also taking larger amounts of marijuana than they did before. Overall, the number of people taking marijuana increased from 3.9 million in 2002 to 8.4 million in 2014.

Odor Control

A surprising challenge emanating from this increase is odor control. People who board the marijuana bandwagon are finding it difficult to control and manage the resulting odor. Homes, hotels, clubs, casinos, and resorts are some of the facilities that are at risk. Odor Management can be a major issue in some states where “cannabis tours” are on the rise. Property managers are now scrambling to find effective methods of reducing or eliminating the odor.

Remediation

Marijuana residue can find its way into walls, carpets, and a structure’s ventilation system. The residue can stick to walls for a relatively longer period. If the tenant’s lease is valid for an extended period, then the level of contamination may be enormous. The property manager will have to carry out extensive cleaning and painting in order to restore the property to its former condition. Items that block the odor may combine with marijuana smoke to create a greater penetration of the walls.

A casual wall wipe may remove odors that are a few months old, but a professional is required to remove a more established residue. Professional lead cleanup and removal services use customized tools to get rid of marijuana odor and stains on walls. Also, these services have the expertise to deodorize the air inside the building.

Over time, pollutants and odors from tobacco and pot smoke as well as pet odors, collect and concentrate on surfaces creating an unpleasant, potentially unsafe indoor air quality condition and could cause significant health risks.

There is recent research from the National Institute of Health who found that these toxic brews, called ThirdHand Smoke, can then reemit back into the air and recombine to form harmful compounds that remain at high levels long after smoking has stopped occurring.

There are only 3 options:

1 – Ignore this serious problem

2 – Cover it up with standard paint, providing minimal benefit

3 – Apply a specialty environmental paint uniquely formulated to seal, block, absorb and capture existing odors, fumes and chemical pollutants.

ECOBOND® OdorDefender® is a professional-grade Eco-friendly, odor-blocking paint designed for sealing, blocking & absorbing existing dangerous odors and fumes from the effects of cigarette smoke, pot smoke, fire, as well as pet odors and substantially improves indoor air quality.