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  • Annoyance from neighbour

    This being the general chat section I thought I'd post my dilemma and seek guidance from all of you wise people.

    I currently rent a place in a 3 story building. Someone below me (2 adults) smoke dope and the smell rises and wafts into my living room. I can't leave my patio doors open because of this. There are 4 adults and 2 children living in the place below me. I have asked the senior person nicely to please speak to the people (young adults living with their parents) to not smoke the dope in that location because of the "skunk" smell that I am being forced to live with... suggesting that they could walk 10 or 15 steps towards the property fence or go out into the parking lot.

    The building manager just laughed at me when I mentioned this and told me "it is soon going to be legal." I don't care if it is legal or not legal. No it is not being smoked for medicinal purposes. In my younger years (and not so long ago) I recall smoking pot but it certainly didn't smell like this crap.

    As an addict to cigarettes I am acutely aware of what it feels like to be ostracised and 'moved to the curb' when I fancy a cigarette after a meal at a restaurant.

    My son just laughs at me when I bitch about this.

  • #2
    You need to speak to the landlord about it. Tell them that it is interfering with your ability to enjoy your unit.

    In the residential tenancies act, landlords have to ensure everyone can enjoy their space without impacting others. Smoking is legal and it bothers people. Noise is legal but it bothers people.

    Dont waste your time with the others. Landlords are responsible. And read the act.

    (I was a landlord so I know these things )

    Comment


    • #3
      I agree, this is a landlord matter. The building manager doesn't want to be the bad guy and tell the other tenants to cut it out, but the landlord has an interest in having satisfied tenants and a decent building (and has the legal responsibility).

      Comment


      • #4
        I never really thought of a difference between building manager and landlord. I haven't been a renter for many decades. I've never met/seen the landlord. I believe he lives in a different city. Perhaps I'll just write a note to the landlord and give it to the building manager to deliver to him. I don't want to create a war with a neighbour and/or get my tires slashed. I can live with it if I have to.

        This is a regular daily/nightly occurrence. I ran into the two young people about an hour ago and I asked them if they were the people smoking dope. The guy said no but the girl just gave me a road-kill look and said nothing. I just said "hey I'd appreciate it if you guys would smoke your dope over by the fence because the smell comes up directly into my place."

        thanks for your input you guys

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        • #5
          Its best if you find out the landlord info and connect yourself. If you decided you wanted to break your lease early as a result, the fact he did nothing after you asked will work to your advantage. Landlord/tenant matters have their own "court" in Ontario so documentation is key.

          Plus, they probably arent the renters in that unit (parents you said?) so the actual renters are responsible for what happens in their unit. The landlord may not even know its going on.

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          • #6
            I'm surprised they just laughed...
            I believe it should be considered a health issue, as in, second hand smoke, just like cigarettes. I could be wrong though.

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            • #7
              Building manager proudly admitted to me that he imbibes.

              I think my cats are getting high LOL

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              • #8
                I can understand your issues with your neighbours. Mine are neighbours from hell also. They dont think rules /bylaws apply to them. They allow their visitors to block the whole sidewalk every weekend all night, have a firepit that they leave unattended when they go to bed and that is the tip of the iceberg.
                They had bylaw called on them last year about the firepit and I found out that they are not suppose to even have it as they dont have the required clearance from their house and the property lines. They thought I called so after that I got screws thrown into my driveway on a regular basis. There were different screws and nails on a regular basis. Well they are back to having a fire and once they started that, the screws in my driveway stopped. Coincidence???? I think not.

                I am just waiting for the next time someone calls on them and they take revenge on me for it. I will be getting an infrared security cam to have evidence if something like it ever happens again.

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                • #9
                  firepits grrrrrr - go camping already.

                  I remember only too well when my last home (before the big "D") we had a beautiful backyard and very large deck. We had neighbours behind us who insisted on having a big bonfire in the fire pit. Dividing our properties were very tall spruce trees. No the fire pit was not the requisite 15 feet from property line. It was horrible. If the wind was blowing in the wrong direction we couldn't sit out on our deck.

                  I resolved this problem by simply plugging in very large commercial fans. When they lit the fire I turned on the fans and all the smoke blew back at them. After a few instances when THEY had guests over and had the smoke blown back at them I didn't have the problem. The fire pit was removed.

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                  • #10
                    Most buildings have rules regarding expected behaviour by tenants. Plus there is the responsibility to make sure everyone can enjoy their units. Theres reasonable behaviour and unreasonable behaviour and these people are demonstrating unreasonable behaviour. There are steps to take and if people dont like it then perhaps they should look at what theyre doing.

                    I owned a condo and the unit beside me was a rental. First I dealt with stinky pot with the first tenants and complained and the owner tried very hard to get them out after that. We tried a few tactics including talking to them and calling the police. Then the next tenants were partiers and had loud obnoxious activities going on nightly. When we complained the owner got pissed at us (and the other complainers) because they were losing paying tenants again. What they didnt realize was that we could have caused serious issues for them if we took it to the L&T board. As a landlord myself I ended up having a difficult tenant (good on paper) who caused problems I had to rectify. Im sure your landlord wont be happy to know a) his tenants are causing problems and b) his manager wasnt doing his job. You could turn around and end your lease, sue him through the L&T board for fees to move and then he would be out money for advertising to get a new tenant. Complaints cost money, he will want to keep you happy!

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by arabian View Post
                      This being the general chat section I thought I'd post my dilemma and seek guidance from all of you wise people.
                      Smoke rises to the top but, shit rolls downhill and shit smells worse.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        From my personal experience in Ontario.

                        I lived in a apartment in a house with a forced air furnace, tenant that lived on main floor and had basement used furnace room to smoke up in daily. Once my child was born D5 I began contacting the landlord about this issue.

                        Landlord was unable to get the tenant to stop this, and did not really take this matter serious as I did. I went to the landlord/tenant tribunal and started a case to get out of my lease as the landlord wished to charge me money for breaking the lease if I did.

                        Tribunal laughed at landlord and allowed me to break the lease, and stated to landlord that he was lucky I was not going after moving costs, and offset of rent for up to one year. I knew I could go after this but was only concerned about getting my daughter out of this home and was not intended for financial gains.

                        I documented when I called the landlord about this, and when it happened which was daily. I used the "affects my quality of living" at the tribunal.

                        This is a matter between landlord/tenant I believe and you should bring in to his attention.

                        Good luck!

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                        • #13
                          Thanks SteelCityDad and others!

                          Moving is a real hassle and very expensive and stressful.

                          So hopefully the matter can be resolved before it comes to that.

                          Comment

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