Live (smoke-) free or move, but we really don't want to move.

January 6, 2009 3:17 PM

My partner and I have been living in our apartment since May. On the first of December, new tenants moved into the apartment two floors below us. They are both heavy smokers, and now we can smell it throughout our apartment, and the stairwell and hallway between our apartments, all the time. We don't like this very much, but what can we do?

So, long story short, they moved in. We started to smell smoke, to the point that it was affecting our enjoyment of our own living space. About two weeks after the new tenants moved in, we told the landlord about the situation. While we don't begrudge the new tenants' wish to smoke in their own space, the smoke was starting become a major irritant. We were out of town for a few weeks for the holidays, and before we left, the building manager (who also lives in the building) let us know that they were aware of the situation and trying to take steps to address it. This included posting "No Smoking" signs throughout the building and mailing a letter to each tenant (we assume; at least, we got one) that the building was smoke-free and anybody who wished to smoke should do so outside. (He also told us that there are some other problems with these tenants, but nothing that can really justify any action being taken against them.)

We came back after our holiday this past weekend, and the problem is as bad, if not worse, than ever. We talked to the landlord, and he said that he is sympathetic to us but there's little he can do as there's nothing officially in their lease that prohibits them smoking in their own dwelling. As for the smell in our place, he suggested that there might be some irregularity with the airflow in the building that makes their smoke come up (two floors) to our apartment. He said he would "look into" providing us with an air purifier and that he'd talk to them again about being more considerate (the tenant who lives directly below us smokes as well, but we've never had a problem with him because he keeps it to one room and opens the window) but so far the situation hasn't improved at all. I've seen their window open, but only about a centimeter. We've opened our windows to try to clear the air, but it being February in Ontario, this isn't entirely desirable and we don't think we should be paying the extra hydro charges to keep our apartment warm with the windows open.

This is exceedingly frustrating; my partner has had a headache each night since we returned from our holidays and both of us have had irritated eyes from the smoke to say nothing of the other potential health issues associated with secondhand smoke. We can also smell it in our clothing now. (This isn't just the odd whiff of smoke; it feels like we live above a Legion hall.) In any case, it ultimately comes down to us being uncomfortable in our own home.

Aside from the steps we have taken, what else can we do? We can't really enjoy living here, in an apartment we otherwise love, anymore. Our lease is up at the end of April, but we really don't want to move, and as students on a fixed income, can't afford to break the lease. Our landlord, however, has been considerate and done all he can really do. We're not comfortable speaking to the other tenants directly for reasons I would prefer not to disclose publicly.

We are in Ontario, if it makes any kind of a difference. I've read previous AskMe questions but we're really at our wits' ends and are hoping for some help from the hivemind.

posted by synecdoche to home & garden (15 comments total)

I had a similar problem. I had to move. I have two good air purifiers that take out the occasional smoke we get in this concrete building, but in a typical wood frame building, with heavy smokers you are going to get the headache, can't sleep, runny eyes, etc, etc. No point speaking to them as virtually no one will stop smoking in their apartment or even localize it to one room, for your sake. (Even though the smoke you're getting is the same as is poisoning people no longer in their work places.) Your body is telling you to get out, so get out. Condolences. One of the top reasons to buy when you can rather than being a renter.
posted by Listener at 3:42 PM on January 6

Perhaps you could suggest to the landlord that they spend a few pennies on effective weatherstripping of the apartments' front doors. I smoke in my apartment and cannot smell anything outside of it, due (I believe) to my sealing the door to the hallway.
posted by rhizome at 3:50 PM on January 6

Negotiate. Move. Mask it. Tolerate it. Pray they move. Those are the only choices I can see. If you choose to mask it, you could try a pure pine essential oil about 3ml in a 100ml spray bottle (health food store should have the bottle and the oils) or Bulgarian Lavender oil (my choice) same dilution. Both have smokey notes that blend and mask cigarette smoke. That would give you some immediate stop gap relief.
posted by Muirwylde at 3:51 PM on January 6

Before moving out, I would lean on the landlord to see exactly what's going on with the airflow in the building. Perhaps your drains or vents connect directly to theirs, or some other basically structural thing that can't be helped; but it's also possible that something can be done, and should be done.

One experiment you might try is blocking airflow into your apartment in various ways to see if anything alleviates it. Smokers two stories down really shouldn't be causing a problem in your place, and this is something that should be addressable with some common sense.
posted by fatbird at 3:53 PM on January 6

What are the vents like in your building? Is it an older building?
posted by fatbird at 3:54 PM on January 6

Tell your landlord you're going to pay 75% of your rent to accomodate the cost of air purifiers and the like.

Probably won't work, but what if it did!
posted by big open mouth at 4:28 PM on January 6

Tell your landlord you're going to pay 75% of your rent

Don't do this. Withholding rent is grounds for eviction in Ontario.

Would the landlord be willing to cajole the smokers into using an air purifier in their own unit as well?
posted by kmennie at 4:41 PM on January 6

Bummer! You've done all the right things, like talking with the landlord.

Now to help us brainstorm a solution, tell us a little more about your building.

How many stories?

Which floor are you on?

How many units on your floor?

What kind of construction is the building: concrete, brick, wood frame?

Which direction does your unit face?

Which direction does the prevailing wind come from?

posted by exphysicist345 at 5:11 PM on January 6

yuck . . . i have the same problem, but not quite as bad. still, it seems insane that smoke can rise from the first floor to the third. but it does. i live in an OLD building and I am sure it has to do with the vents, among other things.

if your building is old and weird, i'd poke around a bit sometime when the smell is strong and try to pinpoint exactly where it is coming in. i was shocked when i did this- i ended up discovering a 2-inch wide gap in the wall above my medicine cabinet, extending the entire width of the cabinet (hidden from view by a shelf.) like, it was just open to the inside of the wall. gross. i covered it up and things have improved, but i still smell smoke in my kitchen (which shares a wall with the bathroom and said hole in the wall.) i can only guess maybe there's another hole in the wall behind my cabinets but who knows. the worst part is, when they smoke outside, they do it right under my window and the smoke comes in anyway. i also sometimes suspect the smell travels through the plumbing (coming in through the kitchen sink, bathtub.) if this is the case, keeping drains covered may help.

but i guess the only REAL solution is to cross your fingers and keep hoping that eventually no one will smoke anymore . . . good luck with that :-)
posted by lblair at 5:58 PM on January 6

You could try calling the Info Line for the Smoke-Free Ontario Act at 866-396-1760. The law does say that condos/apartments have to be smoke-free in common areas, but nothing about inside the units. They could tell you what recourse, if any, you have to fight this.
I hope you work something out! It sucks when others' habits that you choose not to have interfere in your daily life.
posted by fructose at 6:32 PM on January 6

Check your lease. Generally, tenants are prohibited from engaging in any conduct that inhibits other tenants' "undisturbed enjoyment" of their apartment. Smoking qualifies. Although you can't sue your landlord for failing to enforce this term (since you are not a party to his agreement with the other tenants), you can point it out to him, and ask him to point out to the smoking tenants that their smoking is disturbing others and continued complaints will put them in violation of their lease.
posted by Missiles K. Monster at 7:47 PM on January 6

Thanks for all the good advice so far.

I am almost certain it is a venting (though the plumbing one might be a possibility, too) issue coupled with the fact that they are very heavy smokers but I'm not sure how much can be done. We seem to have electric baseboard heaters throughout the apartment and I am not sure where else air comes and goes out. The building is three stories, with two apartments on each story; we're in the top (obviously) and they are in the basement. I think there are certain areas where it is worse so I'll try to see what I can pinpoint. It is an older building in an older neighbourhood, though I don't know if I could even hazard a guess as to the age. We're on the border of a "historic" neighbourhood in the city, but that doesn't mean much. Our unit (and the problem unit) has windows facing north, south, and east, facing out to the east (well, maybe east-north-east to be precise). I have no clue about things like prevailing winds. The exterior of the building looks like brick, though (knowing nothing about construction) that might be a veneer or something built over a different frame.

The places we smell it the most are in our living room (with a southerly facing window) and bedroom (which is along that same wall, but doesn't have a window on that wall though that is where I have noticed it the most). However, that may be simply because those are the rooms they are most active in.
posted by synecdoche at 9:19 PM on January 6

Update: it is a concrete building, without forced air vents. The landlord seemed to indicate to my partner that there may have been some issue with the old eavestroughing system that left a space through which air could travel between floors. (I have no clue what this actually means.)

The landlord also said that he will pay for the air purifier-- there's no cost for that for us. He's been quite good about everything.
posted by synecdoche at 9:46 PM on January 6

huh - i guess i should tone it down a bit. here lets try this. when one decides to live in an apartment they get cheaper rent and more amenities. this comes with the downside of everyone living on top of each other. if you don't like the smoke, which isn't prohibited by the lease, either rent a house or find an actual non smoking apartment.
posted by nadawi at 10:53 AM on January 7

It is a concrete building, without forced air vents.

That's good. That means that there are only a few ways the smoke could be getting into your apartment. I'm thinking of cracks that allow air and smoke to pass between apartments. Like, a crack between the wall and the floor, or a crack around the pipes that pass through your floor, including that old "eavestroughing system.*"

I think it would be worth your while to snoop around the apartment and try to identify any suspicious areas. (I mean, on all fours, sniffing like a dog.) If you find one or more, it wouldn't cost much to go to your local building supply store and buy some big tubes of caulk and a caulking gun. Then caulk away! Seal up those cracks! Partway isn't good enough, you need a seal that completely blocks the flow of air.

Also, buy new weatherstripping to seal up the door to the hallway. If your building is more than a few decades old, the door may have no weatherstripping, the original weatherstripping may be inadequate, or it may be old and ineffective. A real tight seal all the way around the door is what you want, since there's smoke in the hall.

*I think that's what we call a "rain gutter and downspout" in the US, but we don't put it inside a building. Is that what Canadians do?
posted by exphysicist345 at 4:13 PM on January 7