Smoking outside my apartment (Seattle: apartment complex, rental, condo)

[seattlejoe70]

I rent an apartment in seattle that says i cant smoke indoors, so when i go outside to smoke the upstairs neighbor complains to the landlord that she can smell the smoke and the landlord tells me i have to walk out to the alley or some other place to smoke. i know theres a 25 foot rule regarding smoking around a commercial place of business but whats the laws regarding rental apartments?

[sofia76]

The landlord has the right to say no smoking anywhere in the house/apartment or on the premises. There is no designation of feet for a residence.

[Beat02]

^This.

Just to be a good neighbor, I would be considerate and honor the neighbor's wishes regardless of what the laws are. I smoke, so I understand the habit, but to non-smokers it's pretty foul and you can't blame them for not wanting the smell in/around their living area.

[rainroosty]

You were a smoker when you moved in and you're a smoker now, you have the right to sit down right there at your door and smoke all you want. If any neighbors don't like it then they can shut their windows. Period. You have rights, too, and your wants and desires are to be considered just as much as other tenants.
I wish I could sit there with you. I'll bring a pack for you to smoke and I'll get my own, too.
We can sit outside smoking (and drinking?) until we can't stand it anymore.....then we'll start again early tomorrow morning.
I have the same problem here where I live and I say "screw them".
It's our right - do not budge or they'll want you to give up more rights.

[Inkpoe]

Hmm... The reality is, in Seattle (I don't know about everywhere else)... the Non-smokers have all the power, everything is going to be slanted in their favor.

My friend's been going through the same thing. Neighbor complained, so she stopped smoking in apt. She moved to the alley, same neighbor complained because smoke was coming in the hallway (door was slightly ajar since you can't come in from outside). My friend moved to the outside front of the entrance... again, the same neighbor made complaints because she has to walk through it/be around it. My friend was going to go the parking lot, but gave up once she realized neighbor has car there. She can't just win here.

[sofia76]

Nope, legally, he has no right to smoke on the premises if the landlord tells him not to. He could move into a building where the owner doesn't care about the smoking, or maybe he could even look for a place where the owner encourages and supports smoking! Or he could buy his own house and smoke anywhere he wants on his own property line. There is nothing wrong with being a smoker, but the act of smoking is a behavior that can have restrictions placed on it by the building owner.

[TotalFat]

Ouch apartments are the worst! I had a neighbor like that once. She complained about every little thing! One time I had to change the engine in my car and she even complained about that! Every unit gets two spaces so what's wrong with "parking" the old engine in MY second spot for a few days GEEZ! Instead of complaining, she should have come down and helped out, and it would have been done with that much sooner. Have you ever tried to pull an engine even with an engine lift all by yourself? It was rather challenging.

[scottinpdx]

Originally Posted by rainroosty

You were a smoker when you moved in and you're a smoker now, you have the right to sit down right there at your door and smoke all you want. If any neighbors don't like it then they can shut their windows. Period. You have rights, too, and your wants and desires are to be considered just as much as other tenants.
I wish I could sit there with you. I'll bring a pack for you to smoke and I'll get my own, too.
We can sit outside smoking (and drinking?) until we can't stand it anymore.....then we'll start again early tomorrow morning.
I have the same problem here where I live and I say "screw them".
It's our right - do not budge or they'll want you to give up more rights.

mod cut: You have rights but the neighbor has right also. They should not have to put up will the smell of your toxic fumes. If you want to smoke at your front door, buy your own house and do it there.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by burnhams

mod cut: You have rights but the neighbor has right also. They should not have to put up will the smell of your toxic fumes. If you want to smoke at your front door, buy your own house and do it there.

Agreed. You can't live in an apartment/condo the way you do a single story detached home. That said, reasonable expectations. I stayed one summer in a highrise building on the 20th floor with a private "balcony". Upstairs neighbor who had a herd of children than ran up and down the hallway all day long did not approve. Well, I didn't approve of her pack of children thumping around either. You deal with it. It was unreasonably inconvenient for me to take the elevator down 20 stories and walk to the edge of the property (no smoking in common areas, including outdoors) for a smoke. I don't smoke indoors, which left the balcony.

In most apartments, it's thirty second stroll out to the parking lot, alley, untrafficked area, what have you. If they complain because they drove up and got a nanosecond whiff of second-hand smoke from fifty-feet away, that's their problem. You've done your part to compromise, now they can do theirs.

[scottinpdx]

Originally Posted by Malloric

Agreed. You can't live in an apartment/condo the way you do a single story detached home. That said, reasonable expectations. I stayed one summer in a highrise building on the 20th floor with a private "balcony". Upstairs neighbor who had a herd of children than ran up and down the hallway all day long did not approve. Well, I didn't approve of her pack of children thumping around either. You deal with it. It was unreasonably inconvenient for me to take the elevator down 20 stories and walk to the edge of the property (no smoking in common areas, including outdoors) for a smoke. I don't smoke indoors, which left the balcony.

In most apartments, it's thirty second stroll out to the parking lot, alley, untrafficked area, what have you. If they complain because they drove up and got a nanosecond whiff of second-hand smoke from fifty-feet away, that's their problem. You've done your part to compromise, now they can do theirs.

I quit smoking, but when I did. I would just walk out to the parking lot. Kinda sucked in rain but, oh well. Life in a apartment complex can be .... well .. Complex!!!