Indoor smoking is very damaging to your property, especially over a long period of time. Long-term cigarette smoking inside causes damage to your walls, furniture, linens, and more. What’s worse is that cigarette smoke is difficult to detect and even harder to prove. Proving indoor smoking is time-consuming and doesn’t always work out. This is because a smell doesn’t leave behind tangible proof. Even if you know a tenant is smoking in your property, if you are looking to take it up with a bank over a deposit, it might not work out. Luckily, there are measures property managers can take to prevent indoor smoking on their properties. So, let’s take a look at how to detect cigarette smoke in your property.
What are the costs of indoor smoking?
Of course, the actual damage to your property will depend on just how long your tenant was smoking indoors. The actual cost of smoking will depend on how frequently the tenant smokes inside and how long they rent the property. If the tenant is a heavy smoker the repair costs could total up to $8,000 per property. Not only will the repairs cost you thousands, but they will also cause you to lose out on future profit because you won’t be able to rent your property as soon. Even if the tenant isn’t a heavy smoker, or only stays at your property for a short period, the smoking incident could cost you as much as $1,100. Because the repair cost of indoor smoking is so expensive, it is incredibly important to detect indoor smoking so you can take measures to prevent it.
Conduct regular inspections
One way to detect and prove indoor smoking is by conducting regular inspections. Regular inspections allow property managers to catch indoor smoking and noise violations. However, conducting regular inspections can be very time-consuming, and you cannot guarantee that your tenant will come out to speak with you. This also means it is nearly impossible to collect proof of indoor smoking when it happens. Conducting regular inspections is also difficult because if you have multiple properties spread across different locations, you can’t be everywhere at once. So, while you’re checking in on one tenant it is entirely possible a different tenant in a different building is smoking indoors. If you have multiple available staff members to conduct regular inspections, it could increase your chances of preventing indoor smoking. However, it still remains a time-consuming task, and can’t guarantee that the tenants won’t start smoking again as soon as the coast is clear. Regular inspections could also cost you more money if you need to pay your staff for longer hours to complete the check-ins.
Establish a no-smoking policy
This might go without saying, but it is very important to establish a no-smoking policy when you rent your property out to tenants. If this rule is not established, your tenants will assume it is okay to smoke indoors. If there are no rules in place, it will complicate matters. This is especially true if you want to receive compensation for smoking damages. If you establish a no-smoking policy ahead of welcoming new tenants, then the expectations will be clear. It’s important to keep in mind that a no-smoking policy probably won’t prevent indoor smoking. However, it will allow you to receive compensation, such as keeping a security deposit, to repair the damages that occur from smoking indoors. When you do create a no-smoking policy for your property, it is important to ensure this rule is present on the rental contract, as well as any online listing.
Invest in room monitoring devices
Room monitoring devices are the easiest way for property managers to detect cigarette smoke while respecting the privacy of their tenants. The best room monitoring device to prevent indoor smoking is Alertify. Alertify detects cigarette smoke and monitors noise decibel levels while being 100% privacy compliant. When the device detects cigarette smoke or excessive noise, property managers receive instant notifications. With Alertify, property managers can intervene in real time and prevent indoor smoking. Property managers will also have access to the Alertify dashboard, where they can view live and historical data on the smoking levels on their property.
When tenants smoke indoors, Alertify will always provide you with proof of a guest violation. The proof is issued in the form of an after-incident report. The after-incident report contains specific information about the violation that occurred. The after-incident report can also be submitted as documentary evidence in the event of a neighbor or deposit dispute. With Alertify, property managers can prevent tenant damages before they get out of hand. Alertify also integrates with various Property Management Systems that allow property managers to utilize special features like automated guest messaging. Property managers can save time and money by installing Alertify for all of their cigarette monitoring needs.
