Is there anything we can do, or are we just SOL?

Question

Question: Is there anything we do or are we just out of luck?

Situation:We live in an apartment, on the second floor. Our apartment is completely enclosed, meaning that even the stairs to get up to our apartment are covered.

One of our neighbors is a smoker--an indoor smoker. That's fine until you realize that our apartment is inuadated by smoke due to a faulty vent and doorway. There are times that the halllway is smokey because of it.

While this is normally not a problem, I am allergic to smoke and we have a 17 month old son and one on the way--not really the environment to be with second hand smoke.

We have asked him to take it outside, but he said that there are no rules about it. We asked our apartment complex and after 3 weeks of being told "we'll look into it," we were told that there's not a darn thing they can do about it.

In the meantime, I've had to spend a few nights in the hospital thanks to my reaction to the smoke. This is just getting VERY annoying.

Yuck. We're stuck here until June thanks to a lease and a $3000 penalty if we break it early. We're in the final process of securing a house, so $3000 to the apartment isn't going to work.

Bah!

Answer 1

Each state has different laws that apply to the legal relationship between renters and landlords ("Landlord/Tenant Law"), but there are some common themes. You will want to make sure your state allows the following action before moving forward. See the note at the bottom regarding how to learn your state's Landlord/Tenant laws.

Landlords generally have a duty to tenants to make their tenants' apartments habitable. That is a pretty low standard, but I think having your apartment filled with smoke frequently shows that your landlord is not fulfilling their duty. You and your landlord are in a contract whereby both you and the landlord have duties. Your main duty is to pay rent, and the landlord's main duty is to provide a habitable apartment. If one of you fails to perform his/her duty, then the other party has some new options. These options depend on the type of "failure to perform." There is a common myth that, if your landlord doesn't fix something, the tenant can just stop paying rent. That is generally not true. The tenant must notify the landlord of the problem (preferably in writing so you have a record), then give the landlord a reasonable time to fix the problem. If the landlord doesn't fix the problem, then you can notify the landlord that you will reduce your rent payment by the amount the problem represents. For example, if the landlord failed to fix a dangerous hole in the floor of one of three bedrooms in an apartment, you could be able to cut your rent payment by one third. Similarly, if the landlord fails to fix a problem that makes the whole apartment uninhabitable, you may be able cease payment altogether AFTER you move out of the apartment. If the tenant doesn't move out, they usually have to keep paying rent, but can reduce their payment by some amount.

In the situation you describe, it sounds like the apartment is uninhabitable. The cause is irrelevant as long as you are not to blame. Therefore, you may be able to tell your landlord (the apartment complex) that you will reduce your rent payments according to how much the smoke reduces your use of the apartment. Learn your rights at the local library (ask the librarian for books on your state's 'landlord/tenant law'), and be sure your landlord is aware that you know your rights. Be sure to communicate with them in writing, and date each piece of correspondence. The apartment complex will likely remedy the problem once they realize you know your rights and you are building a record of their failure to fix a major, dangerous problem with your apartment.

If you can't go to the library, another way to learn your state's law is to search the web for your state's statutes. For example, you could search for "Pennsylvania Statutes", and the PA government's web page will probably be an option. Use their page because their info will probably be most up-to-date. Look at the index for 'Landlord/Tenant' or 'Leasing of Abodes' or something related. Then read the laws and try to see if you can understand them- if you can't understand them, you'll have to try the library.

One other option is to go to your state's attorney general's website. Their may be a special section there describing a tenants rights.

You MUST get this information by yourself- do not rely on any of the law-related info in this answer- it is NOT legal advice that you can rely upon- it is merely a generalized summary of Landlord/Tenant law as I remember it- and it may very well be wrong.

Again, the cause of the problem in your apartment is irrelevant- your apartment complex probably has a duty to ensure that their buildings are safe for their tenants- regardless of the source of the danger. Your building/apartment does not sound safe because second-hand smoke has been proven to cause cancer. I hope you are able to get this problem resolved right away!!

Answer 2

Try one other thing. Get your physician to write up a report about your condition and the fact that you have already been hospitalized because of this. Take pictures of the faulty vent and doorway. Present copies of this to the apartment management--keeping the originals for your own records. Give them one month to remedy the problem. Use that time to research and find a local news station with a consumer advocate. Then present the same information to them and see what can be done. It may surprise you how quickly the entire thing is resolved. And one more thing: once the lease is up... get out of there.

Here where I live, there is a man on one of the news stations that gets things done for people who can't get through the red tape on small issues that should have been taken care of.

Answer 3

What Peggy posted is very good, get your doctor to help out as much as you can, if it is becoming a health hazard, you should have more grounds to get out of your lease, I lived in a ground level apartment and the people above me never stopped making noise and I got very little sleep. I got statements from my doctor about how it was affecting my health and bugged the apartment managers constantly about the problem and they finally let me break my lease with only one month additional rent as a penalty (got my deposit back also). It was well worth it. Good Luck and I hope you get a quick resolve, those situations are not fun.

Answer 4

If you've been hospitalized for the smoke, I definitely think you have reason to "force" the landlords to fix the problem. I hate to say it, but maybe if you got a lawyer involved, something would be done. If you know someone who would be forceful on your behalf, I'm sure the building owners would do what they could to help you. Good Luck!

Answer 5

key words are ..."due to a faulty vent and doorway." Have you told the apt. management to fix it? If they ignore you, call your county Department of Housing or Consumer Affairs department to complain. Have a lawyer send the hospital bills to the management with demand to pay and fix.

Answer 6

install a super sensitive "smoke" detector

the ones that pick up everything (all the different smokes) and goes off...


my son bought one for that reason... just a few small screws to put it up and easy to take the battery in and out of.

then while you put up with this..a good air filter works....

Answer 7

Smile calmly, take a deep breath, and do not acknowledge that you are shivering. Can you claim it's cold? ;p If you stay calm and keep control it will eventually stop. Focus on whatever you are doing.

Answer 8

How abt telling your landlord/manager abt the whole situation, and tell them to move you in to some other apartment, which is not near to this egghead. Sorry to know your situation.

Answer 9

i would say if there's a lot of smoke act like you stupid can call the fire department and report a fire. they may make that smoker stop or something

Answer 10

start smoking... then you won't notice it...lol sounds like SOL