Managing your own rental? Telling a tenant no smoking is not enough. California law says it has to be in the lease.

Published July 26, 2026

California Civil Code 1947.5 requires any lease signed on or after January 1, 2012 to specify in writing exactly where smoking is prohibited. A verbal rule does not satisfy it, and adding a ban mid tenancy has its own notice requirement.

If you self manage and ban smoking, California law will not let a sign or a spoken rule cover you. Civil Code 1947.5 requires any lease signed on or after January 1, 2012 to spell out, in writing, exactly where smoking is prohibited. Add a ban to an existing tenancy later, and you owe that tenant formal written notice, not an announcement.

This is one of the ones I see self managing owners get wrong most often, because banning smoking feels like common sense, not paperwork. The state disagrees. It wants the rule in writing, in the lease, and it wants a real notice if you are changing the deal on someone already living there.

What the statute actually requires

Civil Code section 1947.5 starts by giving you the authority. Subdivision (a) says a landlord of a residential dwelling unit "may prohibit the smoking of a cigarette, as defined in Section 104556 of the Health and Safety Code, or other tobacco product on the property or in any building or portion of the building, including any dwelling unit, other interior or exterior area, or the premises on which it is located." So the right to ban smoking is not in question.

The obligation comes in subdivision (b)(1). For any lease or rental agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2012, where the landlord has prohibited smoking on any part of the property, the statute requires "a provision that specifies the areas on the property where smoking is prohibited, if the lessee has not previously occupied the dwelling unit." In plain terms, if you ban smoking anywhere on the property and you are signing a new tenant, the lease itself has to spell out where the ban applies. A verbal rule, a house handbook you hand over separately, or a posted sign in the hallway does not satisfy a statute that specifically requires the areas be written into the lease.

The part owners miss: adding a ban mid tenancy is its own notice event

Here is the piece that trips up self managing owners specifically, and it turns on when the lease was signed. Subdivision (b)(2) speaks directly to leases entered into before January 1, 2012. For those older leases, if you decide to prohibit smoking in a unit or area where it was previously allowed, the statute treats that as a change of the terms of tenancy and requires "adequate notice in writing, to be provided in the manner prescribed in Section 827."

If your lease is newer, from January 1, 2012 forward, (b)(2) does not name it directly, but subdivision (c) still reaches you. It says a landlord who bans smoking after the fact remains "subject to federal, state, and local requirements governing changes to the terms of a lease or rental agreement" for a tenant already living there. In practice that lands you in the same place: a real written notice, not a conversation or a sign, any time you add a ban to a tenancy that did not start with one.

That cross reference to Civil Code section 827 matters either way. Section 827 sets the mechanics for changing a month to month tenancy's terms: written notice, delivered in the manner Code of Civil Procedure section 1162 prescribes, taking effect no less than 30 days out. A text message telling your tenant the building is going smoke free next month, or a note taped to the door, does not meet that bar. You are changing a term of an existing tenancy, and the law routes you through the same formal notice process you would use for any other material change.

What this means if you are self managing

Three things fall on you directly the moment you decide to run this yourself instead of handing it to a manager.

First, if you already ban smoking anywhere on the property, check every lease signed since January 1, 2012. If the smoking prohibited areas are not written into the lease document itself, the disclosure requirement is not met even if every tenant already knows the rule.

Second, if you have never banned smoking and you want to start now, understand that you cannot simply announce it to a current tenant. It is a change of the terms of tenancy, which means a written notice served the way section 827 requires, not a conversation or a sign.

Third, get the geography right in the writing itself. The statute wants the areas where smoking is prohibited specified, so a lease that says only smoking is not allowed, without naming the units, common areas, or exterior spaces the ban covers, leaves the same gap a verbal rule does.

None of this is legal advice, and notice procedures under section 827 have real formal requirements around service and timing, so confirm your specific lease language and any notice you plan to serve with a licensed professional before you rely on it.

Common questions

Does a sign that says no smoking on the property satisfy the law? No. Civil Code 1947.5(b)(1) requires the smoking prohibited areas be specified in writing in the lease or rental agreement itself for tenancies signed on or after January 1, 2012. A posted sign or verbal rule does not meet that standard.

Can I ban smoking mid tenancy if my lease never addressed it? Yes, but adding it later is a change in the terms of tenancy. For a lease signed before January 1, 2012, Civil Code 1947.5(b)(2) requires written notice served in the manner Civil Code 827 prescribes, generally at least 30 days before the change takes effect. For a newer lease, subdivision (c) still requires the same kind of formal written notice. Confirm the specific timing and service method with a licensed professional.

Does this law apply to leases signed before 2012? The written lease disclosure requirement in subdivision (b)(1) applies only to leases entered into on or after January 1, 2012. Subdivision (b)(2) is the flip side: it specifically covers leases entered before that date, and requires written notice under Civil Code 827 if you add a smoking ban later where none existed before. If your lease is newer, subdivision (c) still requires you to follow the legal process for changing an existing tenant's terms.

Last verified: July 26, 2026, against the current text of California Civil Code sections 1947.5 and 827 on the California Legislative Information website. This is general information for property owners, not legal advice. Confirm your lease language and any notice with a licensed professional.

Kellie

Schofield Properties

323 Richmond Street, El Segundo, CA 90245

Topics: self-management, legal, south-bay

Get a free management quote

Back to the Schofield Properties blog

Schofield Properties is a family run property management company at 323 Richmond St, El Segundo, CA 90245. We have managed the South Bay since 1972 and personally oversee about 186 doors today. Book a call to talk about your property.