Am I overstepping my bounds here?

[mom2rtk]

You can just talk to them. Beyond that, you are choosing to live in a shared living space! One that allows smoking. If you have a serious allergy to the stuff, I would think that would be the first question you ask before you rent/buy a place... What is your policy on smoking. Allowed? Move on. Not allowed? Okay. I'm allergic to dogs and cats. So I wouldn't rent a place that allowed them! I would be miserable. I would certainly not rent there but ask everyone else to accommodate me by not having pets. There are so many complexes out there that are pet-free and/or smoke-free.

If talking doesn't work, you can go to battle. Write your landlord or whatever, but you're going to have repercussions there. If you win the battle, you have pissed off neighbors. If you lose the battle, you have emboldened neighbors. So does going to battle have any good result? Probably not.

If it's really harmful to your health, I would consider alternatives. Besides just this one person, you might have to deal w others. Some people said they should go walk to the park. How is that better? They should go smoke at the park by all the kids? See to a non-smoker, there is no good place for a smoker to smoke except "anywhere that's not by me". I'm not a smoker, nor approve of smoking... but the reality of living in a smoking-allowed complex with a health aversion to smoke is something you'll have to deal with as long as you live there.

I do like the idea above about putting up a solid blocker like a planter. This may have its own risks tho as planters tend to make good cigarette depositories. Or putting the fan blowing out your window. The fan blowing out should solve the smoke getting in your house problem. There are rectangular fans made to perfectly fit a window.

Welcome to the Community Board MrInfinity! Not used to seeing you over here.

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, if you put up a few planters, you could also add a small night sprinkler, and set it just a WEE bit higher than necessary. Motion-activated would be even better.

 

[MrInfinity]

Welcome to the Community Board MrInfinity! Not used to seeing you over here.

Hi, Yeah I haven't been out in the TPAS or Community board much lately since I don't have any trip planned to WDW. Maybe next summer. We will be going to Disneyland this year, but there's only so much you can plan for that. New avatar?

 

[Don Duck]

I'd be out there with a hose. Cigar smoke is nasty. He needs to move farther away from the neighbor's sliding door. He knows it bothers them.

I do not smoke ... hate all cigarette smoke, but find the aroma of many cigars to be quite nice. I'm not so sure why you would expect someone to leave their property because a neighbor is not fond of something. Would you tell your neighbor to remove their screaming children ... to stop cooking fish ... to stop burning food on the stove ... and to also stop using a gas or charcoal grille? Do you now impose your own noise limits if your neighbor turns on a radio or stereo? Do you tell your neighbor when they can, or cannot have visiting guests, or when they can or cannot mow their lawn? Seriously, some of this stuff is being neighborly. If I do not like a particular sound or smell ... I simply close (not SLAM) the door or window.

 

[nkereina]

I do not smoke ... hate all cigarette smoke, but find the aroma of many cigars to be quite nice. I'm not so sure why you would expect someone to leave their property because a neighbor is not fond of something. Would you tell your neighbor to remove their screaming children ... to stop cooking fish ... to stop burning food on the stove ... and to also stop using a gas or charcoal grille? Do you now impose your own noise limits if your neighbor turns on a radio or stereo? Do you tell your neighbor when they can, or cannot have visiting guests, or when they can or cannot mow their lawn? Seriously, some of this stuff is being neighborly. If I do not like a particular sound or smell ... I simply close (not SLAM) the door or window.

I agree, but the OP describes a scenario where the smoker is deliberately standing on their side of the patio under their window, so as not to upset the smoker's sister with smoke getting in her house. If the smoker was right outside the sister's door and the wind was carrying the smell into OP's home, I would agree that OP wouldn't have a leg to stand on here. But when it would be easy for the smoker to move a few feet back towards their own property to help disperse the smell, then it's worth mentioning.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Thanks for the input everyone... the situation worked out quite favorably I think. I happened to catch both my neighbor and her brother sitting on the patio this evening and I brought it up to both of them. At first he tried to deny what was happening, until I pointed out the cigarette butts under my window. At that point my neighbor had it out with her brother a bit, and told him he has to go downstairs away from the building to smoke (she doesn't want him smoking on the patio either). She told me to call if he does it again, and he knows that everyone is on the same page. Hopefully this puts an end to the smoking under my window.

 

[Plaid Princess]

I agree, but the OP describes a scenario where the smoker is deliberately standing on their side of the patio under their window, so as not to upset the smoker's sister with smoke getting in her house. If the smoker was right outside the sister's door and the wind was carrying the smell into OP's home, I would agree that OP wouldn't have a leg to stand on here. But when it would be easy for the smoker to move a few feet back towards their own property to help disperse the smell, then it's worth mentioning.

Exactly, if he was smoking on his side and the smoke was drifting in, then I wouldn't worry about it.