Howard and his wife, Cathy, are lovely people.  Their huge corner unit in my mid-town Toronto condo building is absolutely stunning; totally renovated, it boasts Southwest exposure, crown mouldings and impeccable décor.  There’s only one problem, and it’s the same problem they’ve had for a year.  Their unit wreaks of cigarettes.  And they don’t smoke!  David, their neighbour, is a chain smoker.  The tobacco smell from David’s unit seeps from under his door, through the walls and vents and into Howard’s and Cathy’s unit.  I am a board member and almost every month we get a letter from Howard asking us to please help them.  Isn’t there something we can do?

In a word, no.  David owns his place and is allowed to smoke.  We’ve suggested that he buy an air purifier.  He did.  It didn’t help.  Nothing seems to help.

In Howard’s latest letter to the board he told us that he was listening to a CBC show about some building boards enacting non-smoking regulations.  Is this something we could discuss at a future AGM?

This got our board talking.  Yes, condo owners absolutely have the right to ban smoking, provided the rules for amending the condominium declaration/rules are respected.  It would take 80% of the owners to vote in favour of making the building a non-smoking building.  Getting that percentage would be difficult.  A recent survey found that only 64% of all multi-unit dwellers would likely choose a smoke-free building over one where smoking is permitted.

One of our fellow board members said that when he looked to buy his unit the windows were all open.  It smelled a little of cigarette smoke, but he thought that by removing the carpet the problem would be solved.  He was wrong.  He had to paint the ceiling 3 times.  He had to remove all window coverings and wallpaper.  It took over a year for the smell to dissipate.

One owner in our building and her neighbour have come up with an ingenius plan:  when he is going to smoke he goes onto his balcony and throws a tennis ball on a string over the railing to hers.  This signals that he is going to light up (what kind of cigarette he’s smoking I’m not really sure) and she knows to close her windows. Of course, not all of us live in condos with balconies.

If you do find yourself in an apartment/condo that smells of cigarette smoke there is a primer on the market called Zinsser that gets rid of the smell.

Ask your Real Estate Representative to dig around… ask people on the floor about anyone who smokes.  She can also talk to the building manager about smokers in the building and what floor they’re on.  But here’s a little bit of advice:  If you go to view a condo and all the windows are open, ask to come back another time after they have been closed for a few days!