Question for smokers

kentrel

I'm a non smoker living in a tenement building with several heavy smokers. They smoke in the stairwell, at the front door etc. I've gotten advice from the council and a fire safety officer. There's not much I can do legally, other than make polite requests for them to stop. Some of the residents are agreeable, some of them.. not so much. Many of them work odd shifts so I never actually see them, but I smell them after they're gone.

I pay 50% of what I earn on rent, not including council tax and bills. It's a fortune and I feel like it's wasted as my home smells of smoke constantly.

What's the best way I can get through to smokers to get them to smoke outside away from the building?

Here's the message I'm going to pin to the door tomorrow. I know notes will always tick off somebody, but will it get through to the right people?

"Dear Residents.

Please do not smoke in the common stairwell. It is a fire hazard and the smoke affects non smokers in the building.

Thank you

".

AnotherJoe

Since smokers dont care about themselves, why would they care about someone else?

suki1964

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Since smokers dont care about themselves, why would they care about someone else?

That's a rather sweeping statement


Op, trouble with smokers is, unless they have tried to quit themselves, they don't actually smell it themselves so they really don't understand how invasive the smell is

My DH thought I was just always having a go about his daughter as I never wanted to visit, let alone stay. Then he quit and noticed. And finally she quit and understands

Put the notice up but you won't get everyone to abide by it. The smokers also think they have a right to smoke at home


Do you not have a lease holder or management committee who can write in into the t&c's that smoking is not allowed in the communal areas?

xylophone

I'm a non smoker living in a tenement building with several heavy smokers. They smoke in the stairwell, at the front door etc. I've gotten advice from the council and a fire safety officer. There's not much I can do legally,

Sadly, it appears that you are right.

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20150211025322/http://www.clearingtheairscotland.com/faqs/qanda.html#residential

kentrel

suki1964 wrote: »

Do you not have a lease holder or management committee who can write in into the t&c's that smoking is not allowed in the communal areas?

Unfortunately I don't live anywhere near that fancy. There's no committee. I have a standard lease with my landlord that prevents me from smoking, but who knows what the other resident's obligations are.

I suspect the buildings are a mixture of owners and possibly council flats judging by the general lack of cleaning. Renters like me usually have a contractual obligation to keep the common areas clean and clear. Owners.. not so much. It's usually a matter of whether the council will push them or they care about their property value. Until I know who owns and who rents I don't know if there's anything I can do.

[Deleted User]

I don't think this is a problem you can solve in your current situation. I'd just prepare to move into a smaller property and check for smokers (odour/stray butts) when viewing. I would imagine a similiar check before moving into the tenement would have shown the problem existed.

sniggings

I feel for you.

My guess is, even if they didn't smoke in the hall, the smoke will still get in your flat, I live in a flat and a smoker lives across the hallway, the smoke from his flat fills the hallways some days.

I thought smoking in a communal area was against the law though? If it is, then surely the council can't just wash their hands of the problem?

How is the smoke getting into your flat? if it's just the door, you can buy those draught strips to help seal the door.

A more expensive way, if your home allows it, would be to fit one of those air pressure things, sorry don't know the correct name, but they suck in the outside air, which then blows out of all the cracks/openings in your flat, which in turn will stop the smoke coming in.

KingS6

Is it not possible that it is also forbidden for owners to smoke in their gaffs too?

There could be a condition in the covenant for the block of the apartments that smoking is not allowed?

Pixie5740

Tenement? Are you in Scotland by any chance? If so then landlords have a legal responsibility to ensure their tenants aren't causing a nuisance to the neighbours. Antisocial behaviour is a ground for eviction. Unfortunately the smoke free legislation in Scotland doesn't cover communal stairwells but the smoke free legislation in England does.

Leaving a note is a passive aggressive. Have you tried speaking with the smokers and explaining how the stench permeates through the whole building? You never know it might work.

freeisgood

OP I feel your pain...I detest the smell of smoke...had to live in a block of flats for 2 years..new baby...and if the wind direction was wrong...the smell of smoke from corridors/other flats ended up somehow under around the front door and into our flat....around myself and our newly born baby...and I am a strict non smoker, the smell literally makes me retch...horrible smelling it, especially when tucked up in bed for the evening and drifting off to sleep....and in it comes That was a miserable time for me. All I can suggest is to maybe try and hang something over the front door as a layer of protection? A thick heavy curtain? Make sure draft excluder all around door and letterbox flap? Best of luck.

OP are you ground floor?...Is there another way out of your flat IE patio/kitchen door? If so I would tape up a plastic sheet all over the front door and Just exit enter my home via the outside door.

davidmcn

sniggings wrote: »

I thought smoking in a communal area was against the law though?

No, it isn't. Not that I can imagine smoking enforcers doing raids on people's stairs even if it was.

KingS6 wrote: »

Is it not possible that it is also forbidden for owners to smoke in their gaffs too?

Have you ever heard of such a thing anywhere? It certainly doesn't exist in Scotland.

There could be a condition in the covenant for the block of the apartments that smoking is not allowed?

There won't be.

Pixie5740 wrote: »

If so then landlords have a legal responsibility to ensure their tenants aren't causing a nuisance to the neighbours. Antisocial behaviour is a ground for eviction.

I've never heard of normal personal fag consumption being deemed to constitute a common law nuisance or antisocial behaviour.

In short, there isn't a legal solution.