Cigarette smells from flat below

Adamadam20

Hi

So I have been living in my current flat for 10 years. I know that my neighbour below smokes, however luckily I have never smelled this in my flat. Until last week. I suddenly started smelling the cigarette smoke, and it is worst in my bedroom.

It's odd because I am certain it is coming from below, my flat does not adjoin any other neighbours walls and there are no smells in the communal hallway. Definitely not coming from windows.

I started investigating and noticed that one of my floor tiles in my bedroom was puncutred. I sealed this thoroughly with brown tape as a temporary measure. Can still smell it.

Sealed the vent that I thought was the culprit in an airing cupboard. Smell hasn't gone.

Any other explanation? It is really impacting my mental health and sleep, I feel helpless. Literally sitting here at 2 am without any sleep, all I can smell is ciga. It is quite strong and not subtle, so it must be seeping through somehow.

I have had many issues with this neighbour so approaching him is not an option.

I also have an air purifier running 24/7 in the room and it is ineffective.

ThisIsWeird

Oh dear - this is not going to be easy, especially if you don't get on.

I sympathise - I can't imagine many things worse than ciggie smoke smell in your home - yuck.

Any idea if, perhaps, the resident below has moved rooms where they smoke, perhaps due to winter approaching?

What to do? I guess it's start a log of the incidences, and when you most smell it - including 'all' if that's the case. Then, really, you could do with an impartial observer to agree that there is a smell, and how 'bad' it is (I'd find any ciggie smoke unacceptable). Then, armed with this, you approach your LA - if it's bad enough, it could come under a 'statutory nuisance', tho' I have no idea how they could enforce this.

Does the resident rent or own? For the former, I'd imagine it would breach his tenancy.

twopenny

Unless it's changed then a tenant is allowed to smoke as you are in your own home but the difference is if there is a no smoking clause in the agreement.

Assuming that he is allowed have you checked for gaps around the skirting board?

ThisIsWeird

twopenny said:

Unless it's changed then a tenant is allowed to smoke as you are in your own home but the difference is if there is a no smoking clause in the agreement.

Assuming that he is allowed have you checked for gaps around the skirting board?

Thanks.
I would imagine that the vast majority of ASTs include a non-smoking clause. 
Is it not even a 'standard' feature in most downloadable forms, one the LL would consciously need to remove if they were stupid enough to?
It would be a nice outcome in this case, but I suspect little chance.

TELLIT01

If the smell has been getting into the flat for a while, the smell won't disappear immediately even if the way the smoke is getting in is found and blocked.  Cigarette smoke can hang around for a while and will be especially noticable to a non-smoker.

Emmia

I had a similar problem in our bathroom after it was replaced. I fixed it by sealing around the floor edge, door frames and a small hole that appeared at the top of the door frame in the wall with silicone and caulk filler(depending on location) I still don't know definitively where the aroma was coming from.

So far so good. I can only suggest running filler/silicone along all corners and ensuring your tiled floor is thoroughly grouted and there are no cracks in the grout.

Best of luck.

Bradden

I don't think the OP has stated if they are an owner or tenant. Is there much/anything they could do if the neighbour owns the property?

Adamadam20

Thanks for the suggestions. 

I own my property and he is a council tenant and has lived here for 15+ years. Local authority tenancy agreements don't address cigarette smoke. 

The frustrating part is trying to find the source of the exposure, it's a small 1 bed flat with no obvious gaps/cracks. 

ThisIsWeird

It might not be an issue within the tenancy agreement, but it 'might' still constitute a 'statutory nuisance'. Not dissimilar to the occupant lighting regular fires outside that bathed your flat. 
But, no idea.
Have you had visitors who agree it's a noticeable or  intrusive smell?

EssexHebridean

Ahh what a rotten situation OP, and difficult to tackle, too!

I don't suppose the flat below has a balcony? If it does, is it possible that the neighbour has just started smoking outside rather than inside, and in fact the smell is coming in through the windows? 

Grenage

Any chance the smell ties in with anything? Cooler weather might result in Windows being closed, in which case an extractor fan could be pulling air in from the stairwell.