New Law Lets Landlords Ban Smoking

California residents who rent property soon could face new smoking rules now that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that would allow landlords to ban smoking in apartments.

The law goes into effect on Jan. 1.

"With the Governor’s action today, we will see the availability of smoke-free, multi-family housing grow throughout California," said state Sen. Alex Padilla of Pacoima, who authored the measure, in a statement Wednesday.

"We know that second hand smoke is harmful. With this new law renters will have much greater chance of finding a smoke-free environment in which to live," Padilla said. "This new law will provide tenants with healthier choices."

In Hermosa Beach there are about 9,550 households—44.6 percent of them are owned (that’s 4,255) while more than half are rented (that’s 5,295), according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

While a landlord could restrict pets, noise and certain types of furniture (such as waterbeds) in a rental agreement, no current law explicitly permits a landlord to disallow smoking—but Senate Bill 332 would change that.