S.B. 49

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SECOND HAND SMOKE AMENDMENTS
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Lane Beattie
5 AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH; CLARIFYING THAT DRIFTING TOBACCO SMOKE IS
6 A NUISANCE; AND PROVIDING THAT RESIDENTIAL UNIT RENTAL AND
7 PURCHASE AGREEMENTS MAY PROHIBIT GENERATION OF TOBACCO SMOKE.
8 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
9 AMENDS:
10 57-8-16, as enacted by Chapter 111, Laws of Utah 1963
11 57-17-1, as enacted by Chapter 74, Laws of Utah 1981
12 57-22-5, as enacted by Chapter 314, Laws of Utah 1990
13 78-38-1, as last amended by Chapter 69, Laws of Utah 1996
14 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
15 Section 1. Section 57-8-16 is amended to read:
16 57-8-16. Contents of bylaws.
17 The bylaws may provide for the following:
18 (1) the establishment of a management committee, the number of persons constituting the
19 committee and the method of selecting the members of the committee; the powers and duties of
20 the management committee; and whether or not the management committee may engage the
21 services of a manager[.];
22 (2) the method of calling meetings of the unit owners; what percentage of the unit owners
23 shall constitute a quorum, and be authorized to transact business[.];
24 (3) the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common areas and facilities and
25 payment therefor[.];
26 (4) the manner of collecting from the unit owners their share of the common expenses[.];
27 (5) the designation and removal of personnel necessary for the maintenance, repair, and

1 replacement of the common areas and facilities[.];
2 (6) the method of adopting and of amending administrative rules and regulations
3 governing the details of the operation and use of the common areas and facilities[.];
4 (7) [Such] (a) restrictions on and requirements respecting the use and maintenance of the
5 units and the use of the common areas and facilities as are designed to prevent unreasonable
6 interference with the use of their respective units and of the common areas and facilities by the
7 several unit owners[.]; and
8 (b) restrictions regarding the use of the units may include prohibitions on the generation
9 of environmental tobacco smoke that drifts into any other unit;
10 (8) the percentage of votes required to amend the bylaws[.]; and
11 (9) other provisions as may be [deemed] considered necessary for the administration of
12 the property consistent with this act.
13 Section 2. Section 57-17-1 is amended to read:
14 57-17-1. Return or explanation of retainage upon termination of tenancy.
15 (1) Owners or designated agents requiring deposits however denominated from renters
16 leasing or renting residential dwelling units shall either:
17 (a) return those deposits at the termination of the tenancy; or
18 (b) provide the renter with written notice explaining why any deposit refundable under the
19 terms of the lease or rental agreement is being retained.
20 (2) Violation of a rental or lease agreement provision prohibiting the generation of tobacco
21 smoke in the unit is a ground for retaining an otherwise refundable deposit.
22 Section 3. Section 57-22-5 is amended to read:
23 57-22-5. Renter's duties -- Cleanliness and sanitation -- Compliance with written
24 agreement -- Destruction of property, interference with peaceful enjoyment prohibited.
25 (1) Each renter shall:
26 (a) comply with the rules of the board of health having jurisdiction in the area in which
27 the residential rental unit is located which materially affect physical health and safety;
28 (b) maintain the premises occupied in a clean and safe condition and shall not
29 unreasonably burden any common area;
30 (c) dispose of all garbage and other waste in a clean and safe manner;
31 (d) maintain all plumbing fixtures in as sanitary a condition as the fixtures permit;

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1 (e) use all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, and other facilities and appliances in a
2 reasonable manner;
3 (f) occupy the residential rental unit in the manner for which it was designed, but the renter
4 may not increase the number of occupants above that specified in the rental agreement without
5 written permission of the owner;
6 (g) be current on all payments required by the rental agreement; and
7 (h) comply with all appropriate requirements of the rental agreement between the owner
8 and the renter, which may include a prohibition on the generation of tobacco smoke within the
9 residential rental unit, or on the premises.
10 (2) No renter may:
11 (a) intentionally or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the
12 residential rental unit or knowingly permit any person to do so;
13 (b) interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the residential rental unit of another renter,
14 including the generation of tobacco smoke that drifts into the residential rental unit of another; or
15 (c) unreasonably deny access to, refuse entry to, or withhold consent to enter the
16 residential rental unit to the owner, agent, or manager for the purpose of making repairs to the unit.
17 Section 4. Section 78-38-1 is amended to read:
18 78-38-1. Nuisance defined -- Right of action for -- Judgment.
19 (1) A nuisance is anything which is injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses,
20 or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of
21 life or property. A nuisance may be the subject of an action.
22 (2) A nuisance may include the following:
23 (a) drug houses and drug dealing as provided in Section 78-38-9;
24 (b) gambling as provided in Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 11;
25 (c) criminal activity committed in concert with two or more persons as provided in Section
26 76-3-203.1;
27 (d) party houses which frequently create conditions defined in Subsection (1); and
28 (e) prostitution as provided in Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 13.
29 (3) A nuisance under this section includes tobacco smoke that drifts into any room or
30 rooms rented, leased, or owned by the plaintiff and this smoke:
31 (a) drifts in once or more in consecutive seven-day periods; and

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1 (b) creates any of the conditions under Subsection (1).
2 [(3)] (4) (a) An action may be brought by any person whose property is injuriously
3 affected, or whose personal enjoyment is lessened by the nuisance.
4 (b) Upon judgment, the nuisance may be enjoined or abated, and damages, costs, and
5 attorneys' fees may be recovered.




Legislative Review Note
as of 12-6-96 3:34 PM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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