One of the most incredibly annoying aspects of living close to other people is the violation of the “No-Smoking” policy your apartment building has. Why does it seem like some people think those rules and policies are made for other people and not for them?
The fact is, you can be evicted from your apartment if you smoke it in. Even a single time.
Why is this the case? Because of the damage that it can cause to the apartment itself, the walls and the carpet, and the health issues that you are imposing on other people in the building. That smoke is going to go through the vents, the hallways, drift into other units in the building through the windows outside, everything.
Now, whether you are someone that is looking to find out whether or not your landlord can actually evict you for breaking the No-Smoking policy or you are the neighbor across the hall trying to figure out how the heck to deal with this nuisance, this article is going to give you the information you need.
How Do I Stop My Neighbors From Smoking?
The best thing to do is to report them immediately to your landlord or management so they can witness what is going on and handle the situation directly.
There are some sites out there that champion the idea of going over and talking to your neighbor about their smoking and the nuisance it is causing you.
And well, if you want to do this, go ahead, more power to you. But the fact is that if you have a relationship at all with your neighbors, dealing with the situation personally is probably not going to help that relationship out.
Additionally, the neighbor may take smoking discreetly as a challenge, or even do it deliberately as a way to show their power in the relationship dynamic.
That’s why the best thing to do is Call The Landlord.
Your landlord is going to be able to address the situation directly, put a stop to whatever is going on in the apartment, and not have to bring you into the situation at all.
This keeps you out of it and lets the party with the power of the lease agreement handle the situation. The landlord is the only one that has the power to stop them from smoking in their apartment and making your life miserable.
And almost always, your landlord is going to be addressing the situation right away because not only do they not want their property damaged by smoke, but they ALSO don’t want a dozen other tenants unhappy that one unit is smoking and the complex isn’t doing anything about it.
For these situations, your landlord is always going to be on your side on this.
How Do I Report A Neighbor Smoking?
The easiest thing to do is call your landlord, or the office of the apartment complex and report to them directly what is going on and what smoking you are witnessing.
When you move in, more than likely your landlord is going to give you a number to call if you need something or have a problem. Simply call that number and let them know what’s going on.
If for some reason they are out and you can’t reach them, call the maintenance number. At least if someone from the complex comes over to witness and acknowledge the situation, management or the landlord directly can address the situation when they get back.
But the important thing is to report it right away.
Most of the time when I personally have had to deal with this situation is when there is some tenant that has friends over, and they start partying. Drinking goes on, the music gets turned up, and pretty soon, nobody is going all the way downstairs and outside, sometime in the bitter cold, just to have a smoke.
At some point in the night, the porch and balcony are not even used, and the people start smoking in the apartment like it’s 1962.
Most of the time I give a single warning to the tenant that has the word “eviction” in there somewhere. And I always send a bill for the cleaning of the apartment which is an absolute sure way not to get their security deposit back because my guys are going to be scrubbing the walls and painting and cleaning like mad to make that apartment smell like new again.
Best advice, coming from a landlord: Don’t Smoke In A Non-Smoking Apartment.
What Are Smoker’s Rights?
Smokers are not a “Protected Class” and therefore have no set ‘rights’ under the constitution.
This doesn’t mean that another person can prevent you from smoking. But if you are on their property, like an apartment complex, they can absolutely make it part of the lease agreement that you sign that you cannot smoke in the apartment or even on the property. It is the landlord’s property, so they make the rules.
Now, you can smoke in your car or any other place that smoking is allowed, but just like in government buildings and restaurants, if it is prohibited, that is because the people who have ownership over the property want it to be prohibited.
The only “right” that a smoker has is to smoke on their own time, in places that allow smoking. Basically, nobody can legally prevent you from smoking if you are of age, but they can prevent it on their own property.
Can I Break My Lease Because of Cigarette Smoke?
You can break your lease due to your neighbor smoking if it explicitly says “No-Smoking” in your lease, you have reported the problem multiple times, and the landlord refuses to do anything about it.
I have had tenants that have just wanted to get out of their apartment lease for whatever reason and have claimed that neighbor so-and-so was smoking, etc.
Anyone who is REALLY serious about getting out of their lease because their landlord isn’t doing anything about the nuisance needs to leave that apartment complex anyways.
There are few landlords or managers who will let smoking go on repeatedly in their apartment complex. There are just too many downsides to letting this happen. Especially when you are talking about people serious enough about the situation that they want to leave the complex entirely.
The landlord is going to have to deal with not only the damage to the apartment but the unhappy people that are living close to the smoker as well. Both situations are going to cost them money. So, it is in their best interest to take care of the situation swiftly and decisively.
If your landlord just REFUSED to address the situation, and you have legitimately called a number of times, you can request to get out of your lease because of that. You are entitled to the “Quiet Enjoyment” of your apartment.
This means that you should be able to enjoy your apartment without fear of a nuisance. Having to breathe in someone else’s smoke is a nuisance. The landlord must do something about this or you can request to leave.
If it comes to the point where you are asking to get out of your lease, your landlord should take some definite action though. You are probably not the first person to complain about this issue and if you are asking to leave, there are probably more coming down the line.
More than likely, your landlord is going to work with you to make the situation right. If they don’t, you don’t want to be at that complex anyway. Ask politely to leave without financial repercussions.
Can I Sue My Neighbor For Smoking?
The question for the most disgruntled neighbors who have just had enough with the smoking.
While you can sue anyone for almost any reason, you are going to have to find a court sympathetic to your case. The court is first going to ask what other steps you have taken to remedy the situation before filing a suit.
So, while you CAN sue your neighbor for the nuisance of smoking, and your landlord on top of that, it is rare that that ever happens. None of the parties really want anything to do with the lawsuit, and there are so many more options to make all parties happy that avoid going to court.
You can just ask your landlord to take care of the situation.
You can talk to your neighbors yourself.
Or, if it comes down to it, you can ask your landlord to get out of your lease and go live somewhere else.
There are a bunch of solutions that can happen before it ever gets to the court phase. The most effective one ALWAYS being: Call Your Landlord.
Remember, they have good reason to want to keep their property safe and undamaged, and their clients happy. Just letting one party abuse this doesn’t help their situation at all.
If you DO smoke in your apartment, know that you can be evicted for doing so. It is a nuisance to your neighbors and can damage the property of the landlord.
Talking to your landlord or management is the first thing you need to do if you find you have a problem with one of your neighbors smoking where they shouldn’t be.
This keeps you out of the situation directly and allows the landlord, who has the authority of the lease agreement behind them, to handle the situation directly.
