Ask Altagracia: My neighbor’s cigarette smoke invades my apartment. What can I do about it?
- Call 311 or go to the 311 website to make a complaint if the smoke is from a common area
- Tenants are not barred from smoking in units unless the building has a smoke-free policy
Depending on the severity, you may be able to take legal action if the landlord does not provide reasonable accommodations to protect you from secondhand smoke.
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My neighbor’s cigarette smoke drifts into my apartment, which irritates my eyes and lungs. Management won’t address this problem, so what can I do about it?
In New York City, smoking is prohibited in the common areas of most residential buildings. “This includes hallways, stairwells, laundry rooms, and lobbies,” said Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, attorney and founder of Outerbridge Law representing residential tenants, condo owners and landlords.
However, the city’s smoking law does not generally ban tenants from smoking inside their apartments unless the building has adopted a smoke-free policy.
Secondhand smoke is a potential habitability issue
If the smoke is coming into your apartment from a common area, a call to 311 may be appropriate. You can also make a complaint online via the 311 website. “If the smoke is coming from another apartment, the issue often becomes one of lease enforcement, nuisance, or habitability,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
The warranty of habitability is a legal requirement ensuring landlords provide safe and livable conditions in apartments and common areas. Depending on the severity of the situation, you may be able to take legal action if the landlord does not provide reasonable accommodations to protect you from secondhand smoke.
A lawyer may recommend you file a Housing Part (HP) action to address smoking complaints. “HP actions can force landlords to make repairs,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. You will need to visit the housing court in your borough to get the official HP forms and filing instructions. A filing fee of around $40 is required. If you can’t cover this cost, you can ask the clerk about filling out an application to waive it.
Creating a paper trail for your complaints
The best approach is to document when the smoke enters your unit. “Write to management—again—in detail, keep copies of every complaint, and ask the owner to investigate smoke pathways like cracks, vents, or gaps between units,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
The city’s Department of Health encourages tenants to request a smoke-free building policy in writing. To do this, send a letter or email to your landlord or management describing your concerns about secondhand smoke and requesting a smoke-free building policy. Consider asking your neighbors to make similar requests because there is always strength in numbers and be sure to keep copies of your communication.
Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, Esq. is the owner of Outerbridge Law P.C, focusing primarily on tenant representation. The firm represents all sides in landlord-tenant litigation and transactional matters such as month-to-month holdovers, nuisance cases, licensee cases, harassment claims, repair cases, tenant buyouts, succession claims, DHCR overcharges and rent reductions and more. Pierre-Outerbridge has 15 years of experience litigating in Supreme, DHCR, and Housing Court. To submit a question for this column, click here. To contact Outerbridge Law P.C. directly, call 212-364-5612 or 877-OUTERBRIDGE, or schedule a meeting today.
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