Apartment dwellers can … Sealing up airways between apartments and/or improving ventilation can also bring relief. I can't stand it - Answered by a verified Lawyer. Pay your neighbor a visit. The couple fought the eviction by arguing that the smoke from their apartment spread due to faulty air-conditioning systems, but the landlord prevailed. Head over to our FindLaw Answers Neighbors Forum where our community of online legal contributors can share their opinions. Devon Live took a closer look at what the law said. DEAR ABBY: My family and I bought a house in a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood three years ago. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. I like to open my windows when I get up to work each morning (from home) at 6a and I can absolutely smell the smoke. Make no mistake; most smokers have very strong feelings about their need to smoke. By Tim Duggan. The management tells me to "just tape up the vents". I know it stinks and other people don't necessarily want to smell it. Secondhand cigarette smoke can cause health problems. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home. The smell of cigarette or marijuana smoke in a condo is an unpleasant, but all too familiar scent for many homeowners in the city. I've identified that the smell appears to be coming down through my kitchen vent, as the smell always originates from the kitchen area, and is strongest near the vent. I read a recent article about a family in New York that sued a smoking neighbor … Internet Explorer 11 is no longer supported. What to do about neighbor who smokes weed indoors multiple times a day and it gets into my apt? What can we do about a neighbor who constantly smokes out the entire neighborhood with their chimney smoke? The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. I think it may be coming through the heater ducts as well. If your apartment neighbor smokes, the first thing to do is make sure they are not smoking in the actual building, which is where the majority of the second-hand smoke is going to come from. The problem is that his smoke rises into my living room and my office room and is awful. They don't care about the other people here breathing it but would rather be confrontational with everyone. My neighbor's marijuana smoke is coming into my apartment and the landlord won't do anything. It's the landlord's job to enforce both sides of this bargain. Apartment Leases: Do I Have to Take Property As Is? Neighbors' second hand smoke. I have an asthmatic child. I live in an apartment complex and I have a neighbor who smokes weed constantly and the smell completely takes over my apartment and my asthmatic child . I have left him a note to please smoke outside. You could try pointing that out to your neighbor. The smell comes right into my apartment through a vent. For more information on evictions, see How Evictions Work: Rules for Landlords and Property Managers. Creating excessive smoke pollution is an offence under the Protection of Environment Operations (POEO) Act 1997 (s135). Advise the situation and state the required remedy with a time frame. Understanding Homeowners' Associations & CC&Rs. He smokes at least once every hour if not more. I can’t take it no more. After that, talk to your neighbor to change where they smoke, and finally, talk to your landlord and ask for help. See if there is anything in this Declaration which prevents a neighbor from smoking in the common areas of a condominium or actually smoking in a condominium unit. I own a condo in Pinole & 2 of my neighbors smoke (1 is a renter). Work with your neighbor to find a compromise. Another way to improve your chances in a suit for private nuisance is to hire an experienced attorney. All rights reserved. We're probably about 20-30 ft from each other. Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Please enter a legal issue and/or a location. I think it may be coming through the heater ducts as well. A renter still could face a challenge lining up a lawyer. I spent maybe one year in college smoking because I thought it looked cool, set … However, even smokers know cigarette smoking is nasty, smelly, and dirty. A letter from management can be enough to change a neighbor's smoking habits. I live at Village at the Lake apartments in Spring Lake, NC. He goes out on his patio and is like a chain smoker. According to Mayo Clinic, 250 of the 4,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke are considered toxic. After it was brought to their attention, they have intentionally increased the amount of smoke they are emitting. 3. What to do about neighbor who smokes weed indoors multiple times a day and it gets into my apt? For the legal and practical information you need to deal with your landlord and other tenants, see Every Tenant's Legal Guide, by Janet Portman and Marcia Stewart (Nolo). Our neighbor smokes like a chimney and I happen to find the smell of cigarette smoke one of the most revolting things on the planet. Here are a few suggestions to help you with either dilemma. If your neighbours are smoking cannabis, the chances are you will know about it. The management SUCKS. I share a lightwell with my neighbor and when he smokes inside it gets into my whole apartment. Learn more about FindLaw’s newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. The city Health Department recommends that if smoke is coming into your apartment, you begin documenting the incidents, and then consider approaching your neighbor, your landlord, or … A: If your neighbor is smoking weed, you can get high off the fumes. Even if the lease does not prohibit smoking, the landlord may have grounds to evict the smoking tenant if the cigarette smoke is truly troublesome and interferes with your ability to enjoy living in your own apartment unit. I love my apartment and don't want to move. Almost every night, I can smell it. But be careful: You don't want to do that if you're also violating your lease in some way, and it probably won't help you get along with your neighbor. Since the Orange County case, Bonesteel has … As a first step, you may want to look carefully at your lease. You are right to be concerned. If it is, you can complain to the board or HOA about the smoking. Often referred to as marijuana or weed, the drug is … First off, You’re very lucky to have a smoker or smokers in your building to alert you to code violations that could end in your death during an actual fire. At one point, one summer, a neighbor was bothered by the smoke smell and I changed my smoking spot to a window in the kitchen, and put a fan there, and that apparently helped tremendously. What can you do if you think your neighbour is smoking weed? It is a non-smoking building. If you have a neighbor who constantly smokes weed, the first thing you need to do is to walk up to your neighbor and talk to them. § 78-38-1.) You might be surprised at how the problem can be fixed quickly by communicating. The first thing that you need to do is look at your condominium Declaration. Secondhand smoke cannot be controlled by ventilation, air cleaning, or the separation of smokers from nonsmokers. (Some leases and rental agreements include a clause that spells out this principle, but it applies to everyone even if it's not in the rental documents.). Sealing up airways between apartments and/or improving ventilation can also bring relief. We recommend using If it does not specifically address smoking, there might be terms and conditions about nuisance, noise, or other behaviors that can impact the quality of life and safe enjoyment of the premises, which might be used to make a case that your neighbors should not be smoking in a way that comes into your unit. I have approached the neighbor twice, have talked to my HOA, and both have been extremely uncooperative. If your lease prohibits smoking, then there's a good chance your neighbor's does too. Surgeon General has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that eliminating smoking in indoor spaces is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure. I have 3 children who are exposed this everyday. It might also help you keep a good relationship with your neighbor. From my extensive research I did online, the common suggestion is to cover all outlets or other holes in your walls , as that is usually how the smoke is coming into your apartment. If a dispute is just that, try to stay out of it as much as you can. But we're assuming your relationship already isn't that great if your neighbor is stinking up your apartment with cigarette smoke. If one of your neighbors is smoking in their apartment, their other neighbors may have noticed the secondhand smoke coming into their apartments as well. The key is to alter the air flows so that the smoke isn’t sucked into your residence. I am severely allergic to such things as cigarette smoke. What can I do about smoke from my neighbours chimney or barbecue? Again, you'll have to convince the landlord to take action, by asking the smoker to stop or face eviction. I have allergic Asthma. You might be surprised at how the problem can be fixed quickly by communicating. If, for example, smoke is entering a unit through an open window or vent, and the source of the smoke is an exterior common area, addressing the issue may be relatively simple. When a lot of neighbors complain, the landlord may be more motivated to take action. They wont help in this matter regarding a couple of downstairs neighbors smoking too close to the building, causing smoke fumes to get sucked in the outside AC units. Bring a list of suggestions, but be open to their ideas, as well. What can i do about a neighbor who constantly smokes? If the neighbour smokes after that date, then you breach the landlord for encroaching on your right to quiet enjoyment. Specifically, second-hand smoke is a nuisance in Utah if it drifts into any residential unit from a home or business more than once a week for at least two consecutive weeks, and if it interferes with the neighbor's "comfortable enjoyment of life or property." The situation is changing, however, and non-smokers bothered by their neighbors' smoking may find that they can now take action. Non-smoking laws in public places have swept the nation, but until recently, if the smoke wafting into your house, condominium, or apartment from your neighbor's cigarette bothered you, all you could do was move out. William Johnson: “I’m up to here with it. This happens at least once a day. If you ever do find out who they are you should definitely thank them! If the neighbor's smoking makes your own apartment reek of cigarettes to a degree that seriously disturbs you on a daily basis, the smoking tenant is probably interfering with your right to quiet enjoyment. Block on Trump's Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court, Judges Can Release Secret Grand Jury Records, Politicians Can't Block Voters on Facebook, Court Rules. ("Jury Finds Smoking Grounds for Eviction," Boston Globe, June 16, 2005, p. The landlord gave them seven days' notice to move out after several neighbors complained about smoke smells wafting into their apartments. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. If the troublesome smoker lives in a planned development or a condominium with covenants, conditions, and restrictions ("CC&Rs") prohibiting smoking, then either you or the homeowners' association may take legal action against the smoker. Sometimes, she stays up all night, pacing the floor, slamming doors, and makes a lot of noise. Start your research into your state's laws at Nolo's Legal Research Center. If it does, then the tenant is violating the lease and you may be able to convince the landlord to enforce the clause (that is, tell the smoker to stop or move out). Talking is always the first step to handle neighbor disputes. Both tenants have rights in this case. Branch out to talk to your neighbor's neighbors in the same way. A letter from management can be enough to change a neighbor's smoking habits. What do you do when you are stuck with second hand smoke from a neighbor addicted to cigarettes? My neighbor, a renter, smokes. Q. I own and live in a condo in White Plains, where I work from home. Smoking in public remains illegal, but there's little city officials can do when it comes to marijuana smoke bothering the neighbors. My daughter has asthma & smoke is aggravating her health problems. What can I do about secondhand smoke coming from my neighbor's apartment? My entire apartment stinks of cigar smoke. I simply went to him and told him that by smoking it at the kitchen stove vent it was coming right into my apartment and asked if he could start using the bathroom vent that goes right outside. A neighbor that just moved into the building smokes weed every morning , sometimes afternoon … This is a common misconception, even if it is in your own home you cannot commit any crimes or do anything illegal, and this includes smoking weed. If you get no joy from talking to your neighbour, even got talk to your landlord, do it in writing. If it is an older condominium, this document might be called a Master Deed. While you may have a fear of confronting your neighbor, talking with him or her is often the easiest solution. It pains me to admit that I did this a few times – I never thought I was the type of person to call the police over pot smoking but thought I should have some record of doing what the board suggested I do – the police came, gave my neighbor a ticket and that was it. I have talked to renter, owner & homeowners association to complain about secondhand smoke … Under Utah's law, an annoyed neighbor may sue the smoker directly and may sue the landlord in some cases if the smoker is a renter. For people who own their own property, there may still be a way to stop the smoking. Alternatively, maybe you are a smoker and don’t want to damage your apartment or your relationships with other neighbors. Asking someone not to smoke around me is easy. I have notified the neighbor, the leasing manager and even the police and no one can do anything (or rather wont). When it comes to cigarettes, I am pretty much a "live and let live" kind of girl. Secondhand cigarette smoke can cause health problems. The wife smokes, the husband does not. Smoking in building common areas, however, is against the law in buildings with 10 or more units. This neighbor doesn’t like to smell it. How Evictions Work: Rules for Landlords and Property Managers. 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