Add new comment

If you're having problems with secondhand smoke:

Block openings around bathroom and kitchen pipes with spray foam (make sure you get your landlord's permission IN WRITING or they may consider that "damage" against your security deposit) or stuff crumpled newspaper in the openings and affix duct tape around them.

Ask the landlord to check any vents you have in your apartment. The maintenance guy at my friend's apartment discovered a stuck valve in the bathroom vent made all the the smoke and other pollutants the neighbors in all the apartments below her (she's on the top floor) sent out from their bathroom vents blew into my friend's place instead of outside.

Ask the landlord to make the SMOKERS buy and use adequate air purifiers in their apartments. Disagreeable odors may be considered the same as the "no loud noise" policy in leases.

Keep a written record of dates, times, and effects the smoke has on you. If possible, get a letter from a doctor stating your breathing problems. Your landlord may be forced to provide smoke-free living quarters for you under the Americans with Disabilites Act (the way companion animals are allowed in no pet buildings). If they don't, you may be able to sue them for moving costs, odor removal from your furniture, and any other costs you incur, as well as "pain and suffering" if you're forced to move for health reasons.

Most states have "anti-retaliation" laws that prevent your landlord from evicting you or raising your rent to ridiculous heights for asserting your right to clean and healthy surroundings--including the right to breathe without secondhand smoke in the air.