| reply to Jackorama
Re: Best way to seal windows against cig. smoke? said by Jackorama:Is there a "Quiet and rightful enjoyment of said premises" clause in your lease? This is something you should look into since it is impeding your right to enjoy your living space.
The city I live in the landlord has to provide a fix for cigarette smoke entering an apartment from another apartment when there is a complaint about it. I'm lucky I live in a non-smoking apartment building and that includes the grounds.
That's standard in most leases. As a landlord myself I've very familiar with it. Air leakage wouldn't be covered. I would try to remedy the situation myself but most landlords wouldn't do anything since they aren't obligated to do so.
What you can expect with that clause is:
- A reasonable expectation of privacy.
- Peace, quiet and solitude.
- Freedom from unreasonable disturbances from the landlord or other tenants.
- Exclusive possession of the rental unit, subject to the landlord's right of access pursuant to the terms of the lease or rental agreement.
- The use of common areas, free from significant disturbance or interference by the landlord or other tenants.
- The provision of basic services such as electricity, heat and hot water.
The only place you could possibly argue is that the smoke is an 'unreasonable disturbance'. That's going to be very subjective. It's worth asking your landlord but don't expect much help. |
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1 edit | reply to Sarah
You could always try suing your neighbors if they won't be considerate.
"A Florida court awarded $1,000 to a nonsmoker after she successfully argued that her condominium neighbor's smoking was trespass, a nuisance, and violated her right to quiet enjoyment. The nonsmoker and her family suffered health problems as a result of the smoking and sometimes had to sleep elsewhere when the smoke from the neighboring condominium was particularly dense. ( Merrill v. Bosser, No. 05-4239 COCE 53 (Broward County Ct., June 29, 2005).)"
Or get your landlord to evict them.
"A jury in Boston decided that a heavy-smoking couple could be evicted from their rented loft, even though smoking was allowed in their lease. The landlord gave them seven days' notice to move out after several neighbors complained about smoke smells wafting into their apartments. The couple fought the eviction by arguing that the smoke from their apartment spread due to faulty air-conditioning systems, but the landlord prevailed. ("Jury Finds Smoking Grounds for Eviction," Boston Globe, June 16, 2005, p. B1.)"
»www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-i···025.html |
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 SarahPremium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2001-01-09
Cambridge, MA
kudos:6
 ·MegaNet Communic..
| reply to TheTechGuru
said by TheTechGuru:How tacky. Hope it's not a HOA, that'd be a violation. The idea of there being a HOA in this neighborhood made me laugh  Not that kind of place... it's an urban neighborhood and I live next door to a low-income housing apartment building.
@AbruptMayhem: I think removing/replacing the window casings is beyond my ability and probably beyond what I should be doing to the place as a renter.
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My music blog |
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2 edits | said by Sarah:@AbruptMayhem: I think removing/replacing the window casings is beyond my ability and probably beyond what I should be doing to the place as a renter. Technically adding caulk is an alteration to the property so as a renter you should get it cleared with the landlord. The window film or an air filter machine is really the only real ways you can proceed without getting the landlord involved. Basically temporary things you can easily remove vs permanent things that become part of the property once done. |
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| reply to Sarah
www.dreadnoughtvapors.com perhaps they can use those without disturbing your peace. |
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| said by boogi man:www.dreadnoughtvapors.com perhaps they can use those without disturbing your peace.
What possible reason would a total stranger have to change the way they've done stuff for YEARS or even DECADES for another total stranger? They might change for a day just to shut the other person up but there's no reason to change. If it costs more money you can guarantee it won't happen. As a tenant you have control over yourself only. You can try to use your landlord as a tool to resolve the issue but that's the only leverage that will work. They alone hold the power to make stuff happen to others.
I've had 2 tenants try to resolve stuff themselves. I got a call from the cops about it around midnight. They got physical and who knows what happened but both ended up pressing charges on each other. Mine was so pissed she wouldn't renew her lease with me and the other was evicted shortly after my tenant left. |
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| um wow....
just brainstorming possible amicable solutions no need to get wound up. |
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| said by boogi man:um wow....
just brainstorming possible amicable solutions no need to get wound up.
I only wish people stopped and thought about stuff first. Fights between tenants have broken out for far less then making a suggestion like they switch to eCigs. |
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| I did think about it. Given all the other suggestions that were being made including altering someones property and given the fact that ecigs are becoming more and more popular it seemed to fit. So sorry I seem to have struck your nerve. |
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| said by boogi man:I did think about it. Given all the other suggestions that were being made including altering someones property and given the fact that ecigs are becoming more and more popular it seemed to fit. So sorry I seem to have struck your nerve.
You didn't strike a nerve or get me wound up. I've just had the cops called on my tenants over a physical fight that broke out over something along those line. I'm just sharing experience. If someone wants to go down that road anyways just send me the pictures or audio because it'll be a blast! |
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| fair enough must just need my flat text tonal meter calibrated, carry on. |
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Reviews:
 ·Time Warner Cable
| reply to Sarah
If there is a window on the opposite end of the apartment that has access to clear air you can put a fan in to try and pressurize the apartment to prevent the air from the smoke side from being pulled in. I understand that this may not really be possible in the winter.
The window casing at the interior probrably does not have foam insulation, and the original caulking looks shot. If you have to spin the need for repairing these you can suggest that the reduced air transfer from the exterior to the interiorwill reduce heating costs in the winter. |
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SarahPremium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2001-01-09
Cambridge, MA
kudos:6 Reviews:
·MegaNet Communic..
| I think since it's already October, a fan is not the solution I need in the short-term. It's already been getting down into the 40s at night.
I ordered some of the window plastic kits as well as some weather proofing tape (I figured it might help to put the tape over the worst spots and then put plastic over the whole window). I hope it gets here fast. Last night was awful - when I got home from work someone was lying across the porch smoking and using their laptop for quite a long time. And as late as 2:30AM there were three people out there talking and smoking.
I walked outside and about 15 feet upwind of them so I could use my inhaler in a clean-air atmosphere (it always seems like a bad idea to me to take a couple of extra-big lungfuls of whatever air is causing the asthma to trigger along with your medicine) but I don't think they noticed...
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My music blog |
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kherrPremium
join:2000-09-04
Collinsville, IL Reviews:
·Charter
| reply to Sarah
If there's enough airflow that smoking on a porch causes problems, the window is in serious need of something. Just imagine the cold air that comes in in the winter.
Unfortunately, if the porch is common access to the tenets, and unless the lease/local ordinance states otherwise, the other guy has as much right to smoke as the OP has to be smoke free. |
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| reply to workablob
I have asthma. I did a lot of research into air cleaners. NONE OF THEM WORKS ON CIGARETTE SMOKE.
Save your time and money. Sealing the windows is best. |
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| There are air cleaners especially made for cigarette smoke that work. I personally have installed them in factory break rooms where some smoke and some do not.
SmokeEaters.org
There are a variety of types and capacities here. |
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| Ya, Ozone. |
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| reply to Mary
said by Mary :I have asthma. I did a lot of research into air cleaners. NONE OF THEM WORKS ON CIGARETTE SMOKE.
Save your time and money. Sealing the windows is best.
Sorry but not true, I have asthma and my wife smokes like a chimney and when we bought our first home with central air those two problems collided, the first idea which she came up with was, she would smoke outside on the patio, this was not practical in my opinion so I purchased an electrostatic air cleaner for the return air of my A/C unit and since installing it, unless I am in the kitchen which is downwind from her sewing room, I cannot detect nor do I have a reaction to her cigarette smoke, it also serves very well in cleaning up and not recirculating cooking odors.
I worked with electrostatic air cleaners when I was an operating partner in a small but profitable night club back in the Disco era, on top of the buildings A/C units, we had commercial electrostatic air cleaners installed over both the front bar and the back bar, these units where sold under the name of Smoke Eaters a company that was later acquired by Honeywell.
I could literally have 30 or so people sitting at the bar with two thirds of them smoking and I would say 90% of the smoke was taken out of the air by the units and more than once in a while we would receive an compliment about how “clean” the place was versus another bar where one goes home smelling like a boozy smelling ashtray.
BTW never show a smoker what washes out of an electrostatic air cleaners cell because they will not believe they where smoking and exhaling all that brown stuff.  |
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| You are absolutely right. I've had them since 1984 on my HVAC when my daughter tested positive for everything "except" cigarette smoke. I have also installed the smoke eater type in break rooms at work. See my previous post. The commercial units really were excellent.
»Re: Best way to seal windows against cig. smoke?
Not only did the electrostatic work flawlessly the charcoal filters also were great at eliminating odors. |
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Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to Jack_in_VA
If money is not so much of an object Smoke Eaters looks like the Bee's Knees.
If money is a determining factor I say caulk, or shrink-seal the windows.
Gosh, I can remember living in a place that I had to shrink-seal my windows just to keep from freezing in PA.
Over 100 year old house.
Good Times
Blob
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I may have been born yesterday. But it wasn't at night. |
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