Smoking and Vaping in LA Rentals: What Culver City, Beverly Hills and California Law Require of Owners

For Owners · Leasing & Compliance · October 2026 · 13 min read

A tenant on the second floor of your fourplex calls about smoke drifting in through her bathroom vent. The downstairs tenant smokes on his patio, and his lease says nothing about it. What you can do next depends on the city the building sits in. In Culver City and Beverly Hills the answer was decided years ago by ordinance, and the lease you are using may already be out of date. In Inglewood and the City of Los Angeles the rule is mostly whatever your lease says, backed by a short section of the Civil Code.

This guide walks through the state rule first, because it applies everywhere, then the two priority-city ordinances in detail, then what to do when a tenant breaks the rule.

The state rule: Civil Code section 1947.5

Section 1947.5 gives a residential landlord the right to prohibit smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products on the property, inside any building or unit, and in other interior or exterior areas. You do not need a local ordinance to do it. The section attaches a few conditions.

The lease has to say where

Every lease or rental agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2012, for a unit on property where the landlord has prohibited smoking in any area, must include a provision that specifies the areas where smoking is prohibited, if the tenant has not previously occupied the unit. A house rule posted in the laundry room is not a substitute. If the ban covers balconies and the parking garage, the lease should name balconies and the parking garage.

Existing tenants are a change in terms

For a lease entered into before January 1, 2012, banning smoking in an area where it was previously allowed is a change in the terms of the tenancy and needs adequate written notice under Civil Code section 827. More broadly, section 1947.5(c) makes any new ban subject to the federal, state and local rules that govern changing lease terms for an existing tenant. In practice that means a fixed-term lease generally carries its current terms until it ends, while a month-to-month tenancy can be changed with proper written notice. In a rent-stabilized unit, check the local ordinance before you change any term mid-tenancy.

The ban does not reach anything else

Subdivision (e) says a limit or ban on smoking does not affect any other term or condition of the tenancy. The no-smoking rule stands on its own; it does not change the rent or anything else in the lease.

Vaping counts

Section 1947.5 borrows its definition of smoking from Business and Professions Code section 22950.5(c). That definition covers any lighted or heated tobacco or plant product and expressly “includes the use of an electronic smoking device that creates an aerosol or vapor.” A lease clause written under the state statute can therefore cover e-cigarettes and vape pens along with cigarettes and cigars. Say so in the clause so nobody has to argue about it.

Local ordinances still apply

Subdivision (d) says the section does not preempt local smoking ordinances. Where a city has gone further, as Culver City and Beverly Hills have, you follow the city.

Cannabis: the same line as tobacco

Adult-use cannabis is legal in California, but the law that legalized it draws a clear line for landlords. Health and Safety Code section 11362.3(a)(2) says the adult-use law does not permit anyone to smoke cannabis “in a location where smoking tobacco is prohibited,” and that section’s definition of smoking includes vaping. So once a unit or a balcony is no-smoking, whether by your lease or by city ordinance, the adult-use law gives a tenant no right to smoke or vape cannabis there.

Section 11362.45(h) separately preserves the ability of a private property owner to prohibit or restrict cannabis use on their own property. For medicinal cannabis, section 11362.79(a) says the medical-use protections do not authorize smoking in a place where smoking is prohibited by law. A tenant who asks for an exception because of a disability is making a reasonable accommodation request, and that request deserves a real, documented answer under fair housing law. Treat it like any other accommodation request and talk to a fair housing attorney before you respond.

Culver City: a full ban in multi-unit housing since 2016

Culver City adopted Ordinance No. 2014-006 on October 27, 2014, adding a multi-unit housing subchapter to Chapter 9.11 of the Culver City Municipal Code (sections 9.11.200 and following). It took effect November 26, 2014, and every unit in covered housing became nonsmoking on May 26, 2016.

What property is covered

The ordinance covers residential property with two or more units, including apartments, condominiums and townhomes. Hotels and motels, mobile home parks and single-family homes are excluded. If you rent a house with an accessory dwelling unit on the same lot, ask the city’s Enforcement Services Division how it treats that property before assuming either way; the city’s published summary does not address it.

Where smoking is prohibited

Smoking is prohibited in every area of covered housing: inside units, in common areas, and on the unit’s exclusive-use spaces such as balconies, porches, decks and patios. Common areas include halls, lobbies, elevators, pools, parking areas and shared laundry or eating areas, indoor or outdoor. The ordinance covers tobacco and marijuana smoke.

The one exception: a designated smoking area

You may, but do not have to, set aside an outdoor smoking area. Under section 9.11.215 it must:

• be unenclosed;
• sit at least 25 feet from any enclosed nonsmoking area;
• sit at least 25 feet from unenclosed areas used mainly by children or for physical activity, such as playgrounds, tennis courts and pools;
• take up no more than 10 percent of the property’s total unenclosed area;
• have a clearly marked perimeter; and
• be identified by conspicuous signs.

On a small lot those distances may leave no spot that qualifies. Measure before you designate anything.

Vaping is the gap

The city’s own summary of the ordinance says its definition of smoke excludes electronic smoking device vapor, so e-cigarette use is not banned by the city in units, on balconies or in common areas. A separate 2020 Culver City ordinance bans e-cigarette use in outdoor dining areas, parks and a few civic spaces, not in housing. If you want vaping off the property, put it in the lease under the state statute described above.

Required lease language

Section 9.11.235 requires every lease or rental agreement entered into, renewed or continued month-to-month after November 26, 2014 to include provisions substantially consistent with the city’s model language. The city’s sample provisions make it a material breach of the agreement for the tenant, or anyone under the tenant’s control or present by the tenant’s invitation or permission, to:

• smoke in the unit;
• smoke in any common area of the property, except a designated outdoor smoking area if one exists; or
• violate any law regulating smoking anywhere on the property.

A fourth provision makes the other occupants of the property express third-party beneficiaries of the smoking terms, so they can enforce them by any lawful means, including a civil action. The city’s notes say amendments to existing agreements should be made at the earliest possible date, giving the minimum legal notice. The city publishes the sample provisions, a sample tenant notice and a sample “No Smoking” sign on its Smoking Ban in Multi-Unit Housing page. If your lease form came from outside Culver City, compare it against the city’s sample before the next renewal.

Signs

Post “No Smoking” signs in enough places to make the prohibited common areas obvious. A designated smoking area, if you create one, needs its own conspicuous signs. The city’s Enforcement Services Division has signs available at City Hall.

Who enforces it, and what it costs

Enforcement against smokers is private. Any person, including an organization, can sue a smoker for an injunction, actual damages proven in court, or $500 per violation. The city does not cite residents for smoking. It enforces the landlord’s side: signage, designated areas, notices and lease provisions. For those, the city lists an infraction or misdemeanor up to $1,000, an administrative citation up to $500 per violation, and a civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation.

The city also says a landlord is not required to enforce the smoking ban against residents and guests, and a landlord who has met the notice and lease requirements is not subject to additional liability under the ordinance for their violations. That protection comes from complying with the paperwork, so keep the signed lease and the notice in the file. Other landlord-tenant law still applies; a neighbor’s habitability or nuisance complaint is a separate question.

Questions go to the Enforcement Services Division at (310) 253-5940 or enforcement.services@culvercity.org. For the rest of what Culver City expects from rental owners, see our Culver City property management page.

Beverly Hills: units, common areas, vaping and cannabis

The Beverly Hills City Council adopted its Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Ordinance on October 3, 2017 (Ordinance 17-O-2737, effective November 3, 2017). The rental rules are in Beverly Hills Municipal Code section 5-4-18. Section 5-4-19 applies the same approach to condominiums and other common interest developments.

The timeline

• January 1, 2018: smoking banned in all common areas; units under new leases became nonsmoking.
• Leases signed before 2018: a unit under an older lease became nonsmoking at renewal or extension, or on January 1, 2019, whichever came first, unless the landlord set an earlier date.
• January 1, 2019: smoking banned in all units, rented and owner-occupied.

What it covers

The city states the ordinance covers tobacco, electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, and marijuana smoke. That is the main difference from Culver City: in Beverly Hills, vaping inside a unit is already prohibited by the city. Units include balconies, porches, decks and patios. Common areas are any indoor or outdoor area residents of more than one unit may use, including halls, lobbies, courtyards, elevators, stairs, pools, parking garages and lots, laundry rooms and community rooms.

Covered property includes apartments, condominiums, townhouses, duplexes, planned developments, stock cooperatives and the residential portions of mixed hotel and condominium projects. The city lists single-family homes with accessory dwelling units as exempt, along with hotel rooms and hotel-guest areas in mixed projects.

The landlord’s four duties

1. Signs. Post and maintain “No Smoking” signs in enough numbers and locations that the ban is obvious to a reasonable person. Letters must be at least one inch high, or the sign must use the international no-smoking symbol. Missing signs are not a defense for a smoker.
2. No ashtrays. Do not allow ashtrays, ash cans or similar receptacles for smoking waste in common areas.
3. Written notice. Notify tenants in writing of the common-area ban and when their unit became nonsmoking. This did not apply where smoking was already banned in every common area and unit.
4. Lease language. Any new, renewed or amended lease on or after January 1, 2018 must include a provision substantially consistent with the city’s model language, making a breach of the smoking rules a material breach of the lease. The clause covers the tenant’s guests and anyone under the tenant’s control, and violations of smoking law anywhere on the property.

The liability shield

Under section 5-4-18(D), a landlord who has fully complied with the lease, sign and notice requirements is not criminally or civilly liable to anyone for another person’s breach of the smoking rules on the property. As in Culver City, the shield depends on the paperwork. A lease form that predates 2018 and was never updated leaves it in doubt.

Reporting and contacts

Violations are reported to the city’s Community Preservation program at (310) 285-1119. The city’s summary page does not list the fine amounts, so we do not state them here. For Beverly Hills rent stabilization, registration and tenancy rules, see our Beverly Hills property management page.

Inglewood and the City of Los Angeles

We did not find a citywide ban on smoking inside multi-unit rentals in either the Inglewood Municipal Code or the Los Angeles Municipal Code as of October 2026. If that is right for your property, the rule there is the one you write. Section 1947.5 lets you ban smoking and vaping in units, on balconies and in common areas, as long as the lease names the areas and existing tenants get the change through proper notice. Cannabis then follows automatically under section 11362.3. Confirm with the city or your attorney before relying on the absence of a local rule, because ordinances change and both cities have other smoking restrictions for public places.

Inglewood owners have one more thing to keep in mind: under the city’s just-cause rules, a curable lease violation calls for a written notice to cure before a termination notice. Our guide to ending a tenancy in Inglewood covers the sequence, and the Inglewood property management page covers the rest of the city’s rental rules.

When a tenant keeps smoking

A no-smoking clause is a lease term like any other, and a breach is handled the way other breaches are. Start with the record: the complaint, the date, the location, any photos of butts or ash, and a written note of what you or your manager observed. Then send a written notice that cites the clause and asks the tenant to stop. Keep it factual and keep a copy.

If the conduct continues, a material breach of the lease is an at-fault ground for ending a tenancy under state and local just-cause rules, but each city attaches its own procedure:

• In Culver City, breach of the rental agreement is one of five at-fault grounds. See ending a tenancy in Culver City.
• In Beverly Hills, ground (B) is an uncured violation of the tenant’s obligations after written notice, and the city’s relocation fee is not owed on that ground. See ending a tenancy in Beverly Hills.
• For cure periods and notice timing generally, see our guide to lease violation cure timelines in LA.

A tenant who has smoked for years under a lease that never prohibited it is in a different position from one who signed a no-smoking clause last spring. Before treating smoking as grounds to end any tenancy, especially in a rent-stabilized unit, have an attorney review the lease history and the notices.

An owner’s checklist

• Pull the current lease form and confirm it names every area where smoking is prohibited, and that “smoking” includes vaping and cannabis.
• In Culver City, compare the smoking clauses with the city’s sample provisions, including the third-party beneficiary clause.
• In Beverly Hills, confirm the clause states that a breach is a material breach of the lease.
• Walk the property: signs in common areas, letters at least one inch high in Beverly Hills, no ashtrays in Beverly Hills common areas.
• Find the signed lease or notice for every tenant who moved in before the city’s deadlines. If it is missing, give the notice now and file it.
• If you designate an outdoor smoking area in Culver City, measure the 25-foot distances and the 10 percent limit first.
• Route any disability-based exception request through a documented reasonable accommodation process.

Questions owners ask

Can I ban smoking in a single-family rental?

Yes. Section 1947.5 applies to any residential dwelling unit, not just apartments. The Culver City and Beverly Hills ordinances do not reach single-family homes, so the ban comes from your lease, and the lease must say where smoking is prohibited.

Does a Culver City ban cover vape pens?

Not by ordinance, according to the city’s summary, which says the definition of smoke excludes electronic smoking device vapor. You can still prohibit vaping in the lease, because the state definition that section 1947.5 uses includes electronic smoking devices.

Can a tenant smoke medical marijuana in a Beverly Hills unit?

The ordinance bans marijuana smoke in units, and state law says the medical-use protections do not authorize smoking where smoking is prohibited by law. A request for an exception based on a disability should still be handled as a reasonable accommodation request with an attorney’s input.

Am I liable if one tenant’s smoke bothers another?

Both cities protect a landlord who has met the ordinance’s notice, sign and lease requirements from liability under the ordinance for a resident’s violations. That protection does not replace your other duties as a landlord, so respond to complaints in writing and keep a record.

I just bought a Culver City triplex. The seller’s leases have no smoking clause. What now?

The ordinance already prohibits smoking in those units, but the leases are missing the required provisions. Amend them at the earliest date the law allows, with proper written notice, and keep the signed amendments or notices in the file.

Sources and disclaimer. California Civil Code section 1947.5; Business and Professions Code section 22950.5(c); Health and Safety Code sections 11362.3, 11362.45 and 11362.79, read from the Legislature’s text as reproduced at California.Public.Law; the City of Culver City’s Smoking Ban in Multi-Unit Housing page and its sample lease provisions under CCMC section 9.11.235; the City of Culver City’s e-Cigarette Ban page; Beverly Hills Municipal Code sections 5-4-18 and 5-4-19; and the City of Beverly Hills’ Multi-Unit Housing Smoking Regulations page. Current as of October 2026. This article is general information for property owners from a California DRE-licensed property management company, not legal advice. Lease language, notice periods for existing tenants, reasonable accommodation requests and any termination based on smoking should be confirmed with a real estate or fair housing attorney before you rely on them.