Tenants smoking

tizzle6560

We live in (& own) a ground floor flat in a Vic conversion. Tenants in flat above smoke right outside the main front door which is adjacent to our front living room window.

We have repeatedly and politely asked them not to smoke in the front porch way and to instead go down the path to the pavement to smoke, as I have an asthmatic condition and the smell generally filters into our living room when windows are open, and stinks out the communal hallway as well.

What are the rules around smoking in or on a rented property and would you suggest we speak to the estate agent who manages it on behalf of the owner who lives abroad from what we know>

Thanks!

agrinnall

There are no rules, it's down to what the Tenancy Agreements says. You can speak to the EA but if it's not prohibited they won't do anything, and even if it is it's unlikely that they'll do anything unless the LL has been very strict about it, and even then they may not be able to stop it other than by evicting.

tizzle6560

agrinnall wrote: »

There are no rules, it's down to what the Tenancy Agreements says. You can speak to the EA but if it's not prohibited they won't do anything, and even if it is it's unlikely that they'll do anything unless the LL has been very strict about it, and even then they may not be able to stop it other than by evicting.

Bit if it is potentially, directly affecting the health of other occupiers in the building?

davidmcn

tizzle6560 wrote: »

Bit if it is potentially, directly affecting the health of other occupiers in the building?

The other occupiers will need to find some other way of dealing with it (closing the relevant windows would seem a good idea!). I doubt a court would decide that merely smoking in a communal part of the property constitutes a nuisance.

Pixie5740

The tenants aren't smoking in the rented property though, they are smoking outside of not just the flat but also the whole building. You can certainly try contacting the landlord/letting agency but I doubt there is much they can do as smoking outside of the building is unlikely to be a breach of their tenancy agreement.

You might have more luck contacting the freeholder if it's the front porch they are smoking in but I wouldn't hold your breath (no pun intended).

tizzle6560

davidmcn wrote: »

The other occupiers will need to find some other way of dealing with it (closing the relevant windows would seem a good idea!). I doubt a court would decide that merely smoking in a communal part of the property constitutes a nuisance.

Maybe not a nuisance no, but if there actions are directly affecting my health, and also prohibiting me from even being able to open my windows, then that too affects my right to simply enjoy living in my own home.

HappyMJ

It's my belief that smoking in the communal enclosed part of the property is an offence....but smoking outside isn't even though that's right next to your window.

http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/what-do-i-do/quick-guide/

It does say it's up to the manager of the property to enforce the ban so I would get on to your managing agent and get them to enforce the ban on smoking in enclosed parts of the property.

davidmcn

tizzle6560 wrote: »

Maybe not a nuisance no, but if there actions are directly affecting my health, and also prohibiting me from even being able to open my windows, then that too affects my right to simply enjoy living in my own home.

You don't have "a right to simply enjoy living in your own home" which is enforceable against your neighbours in the way you suggest it might be.

davidmcn

HappyMJ wrote: »

It's my belief that smoking in the communal enclosed part of the property is an offence

No, I don't think it applies to communal parts of residential properties (certainly doesn't in Scotland, though there are some minor quirks in the different nations' regulations).

MrRipley

Simplest solution - close your front windows.

edinburgher

I sympathise, we had the joy of tenants living underneath our old flat who smoked like chimneys. I also had to try and put a stop to tenants smoking cannabis in the small front garden (with the smell wafting up to the bedroom where our baby slept)!

That said, the landlord(s) and the EA did nothing about either issue and the local council (and the police) had no interest in the cannabis.

Unfortunately you're likely to be on your own as regards this, closing windows and trying to avoid being in the affected rooms at times when they're smoking outdoors might be your only real options.

It must be rubbish being an asthmatic around smokers, but they are in a shared/public area. You may as well as smokers walking down the street to stub out their fags!