Another tenant smoking...out of my lease?

[MadJack]

leases are damn near impossible to get out of especially if the lessor does not want to let you out and persue you in court. they can get all the money back that you would have paid for rent plus the lawyer and court costs. hopefully the lessee downstairs will be nice about it and smoke outside but i doubt she legally has to.

 

[fatdaddycool]

leases are damn near impossible to get out of especially if the lessor does not want to let you out and persue you in court. they can get all the money back that you would have paid for rent plus the lawyer and court costs. hopefully the lessee downstairs will be nice about it and smoke outside but i doubt she legally has to.

No she doesn't have to quit but if he has a medical condition he may be able to get out of it with a sympathetic leesor and if it is easily rentable property. Probably not, but hey, its worth a shot, kind of like deer and pheasant.

 

[dawgball]

leases are damn near impossible to get out of especially if the lessor does not want to let you out and persue you in court. they can get all the money back that you would have paid for rent plus the lawyer and court costs. hopefully the lessee downstairs will be nice about it and smoke outside but i doubt she legally has to.

I would say that a leasor would be very wise to let someone out of a lease over a health concern related to smoking.

This has lawsuit written all over it if the large realty company does not comply in some manner. Not that I think saint would do this, but the realty company doesn't know that.

I fully agree with talking to your neighbor first. It's amazing to me how people simply do not talk to one another anymore. It's almost not even considered as an option.

 

[MadJack]

I fully agree with talking to your neighbor first

and nicely too. most smokers are reasonable about keeping their smoking away from the non-smokers but they really hate being talked down to like they are inferior, if you know what i mean.

most likely she'll continue to smoke but try covering it up with sprays and candles and whatnot.

good luck with this one.

 

[kellyindallas]

I'm a real estate lawyer.

First, your lease will dictate. Read it carefully, I highly doubt there are any "outs" for second-hand smoke coming into your apartment. If no smoking is permitted in any of the units then you have a legitimate complaint.

Secondly, if there's no out in the lease, call the landlord and complain. If they are a large company, frankly, they're not going to give two hoots. They hear complaints much worse than this on a daily basis.

If they give you the standard reply that they are not letting you out of your lease, have your attorney friend draft you a letter threatening them. Most landlords will not do anything until YOU make it such a burden on them that it's easier to let you out, than to continue fighting the issue.

I've written many letters for friends in these situations. After a couple of phone calls and a letter the situation usually gets resolved. You probably have some type of "quiet enjoyment" type of phrase in your lease. Basically, upon paying rent you have the right to enjoy the premises. Your argument would be that the smoking has denied you this right, which is the fundamental basis of the leasing contract.

Hope this helps.

Kelly

 

[Franky Wright]

I'm a real estate lawyer.
Hope this helps.

Kelly

:scared kurby

I'm a landlord.

Saint, I'm always one for resolving it on your own if you can, but these things tend to get blown out of proportion. Kelly is right, the letter with Atty letter-head will get their attention. And the lease does dictate how the court would judge, however, the statutes are subject to interpretation every day in the court of law, and I'm amazed at how tenants will lie under oath. That whole BS about "so help me god" does not seem to matter one bit in front of the judges I have seen:SIB . Anyway, I too will be curious as to how this comes out, keep us posted
Kelly, just having fun with you :tongue

Franky

 

[kellyindallas]

:scared kurby

I'm a landlord.

Saint, I'm always one for resolving it on your own if you can, but these things tend to get blown out of proportion. Kelly is right, the letter with Atty letter-head will get their attention. And the lease does dictate how the court would judge, however, the statutes are subject to interpretation every day in the court of law, and I'm amazed at how tenants will lie under oath. That whole BS about "so help me god" does not seem to matter one bit in front of the judges I have seen:SIB . Anyway, I too will be curious as to how this comes out, keep us posted
Kelly, just having fun with you :tongue

Franky

Can't argue with you there, Franky. It never ceases to amaze me how people neither READ nor understand the contracts they sign. Then, they come crying to me to help them. Don't get me wrong, I love helping the "little guy" who is getting screwed. However, I have little sympathy for people who make poor choices and then want someone else to clean up their mess. It's this type of thinking that's gotten society where it is today, but I digress...plenty of screwing people over goes on on both sides. Typical boilerplate language has statutory waiver language in it, meaning, that the tenant is waiving those particular rights granted by applicable statutes in place at the time they sign their lease. Landlord/Tenant law is typically very tenant-friendly, due to the abundance of dumb people out there. It's just that the tenant, in residential scenarios, is just an average person who doesn't know what his rights are or where to go. Barring it being an egregious situation, he won't usually do anything once told 'no', and the landlord knows this.

 

[fatdaddycool]

I'm a real estate lawyer.

First, your lease will dictate. Read it carefully, I highly doubt there are any "outs" for second-hand smoke coming into your apartment. If no smoking is permitted in any of the units then you have a legitimate complaint.

Secondly, if there's no out in the lease, call the landlord and complain. If they are a large company, frankly, they're not going to give two hoots. They hear complaints much worse than this on a daily basis.

If they give you the standard reply that they are not letting you out of your lease, have your attorney friend draft you a letter threatening them. Most landlords will not do anything until YOU make it such a burden on them that it's easier to let you out, than to continue fighting the issue.

I've written many letters for friends in these situations. After a couple of phone calls and a letter the situation usually gets resolved. You probably have some type of "quiet enjoyment" type of phrase in your lease. Basically, upon paying rent you have the right to enjoy the premises. Your argument would be that the smoking has denied you this right, which is the fundamental basis of the leasing contract.

Hope this helps.

Kelly

Hey darlin!!!! What a post, very nice. I did notice, however, that you have decided to go with the "hope this helps" at the end and make somewhat longer posts??!?!? I can't help but feel that we really need to take this thing to the next level. We are even starting to pick up each others habits..............whattya say babe. Let's ride this crazy train and see where it goes.

That last one even made me laugh at its idiocy but it's still damn funny.

I am cooking a stuffed pork loin tonight.. It is a sweet Italian sausage, scallion, seasoned crouton, gorgonzola stuffing with fresh herbs and has an awesome reduced wine and currant glaze drizzled over it and is served with garlic and chive mashed potato cake. Shall we say about 8p.

Call me for the incidentals babe, miss ya.


Hope this helps,
FDC

 

[saint]

Thank you for the thoughtful responses, especially from the smokers. I agree that sometimes people who smoke are looked at in a pretty negative light, regardless of the situation.

Regarding the lawsuit, etc. I'm not the type to go that route, but I do understand it has a place in certain situations.

I will first kindly ask if she could do it outside, or if it was to take place inside, to confine it to 1 room. I think that is reasonable to ask, and then I could keep the door shut to that room at all times.

If she blows me off, I can always go to the realty company. I pay quite a bit above the average cinci rent for this place (please don't take this wrong...i lived in shitholes with 4 roommates for the past 8 years, my wife demanded a nicer place ) and the realty company sometimes has a hard time renting these out. I've lived here almost 2 years, so I think they may try to help reach some sort of agreement.

Should I hit dead ends both ways and have issues with breathing, then I don't have a choice. As Kelly mentioned, there is a clause regarding "enjoyment" or whatever. In my limited research, cases that do progress to court are usually ruled in the favor of the non-smoker. I think this would be true in my case, because this isn't a traditional apartment building. It's probably a renovated 100 year old house with air flow between all apartments.

I will keep you all updated as things unfold.

 

[vinnie]

 

[3 Seconds]

 

[AR182]

this looks like stephanie seymour...a stunning woman....

 

[vinnie]

this looks like stephanie seymour...a stunning woman....

That's her AR, you have a eye for great looking women :00hour

What do you think of Miss Miller ? :jump:

 

[AR182]

That's her AR, you have a eye for great looking women :00hour

What do you think of Miss Miller ? :jump:

miller is also nice but not like sweet stephanie (great lips)....maybe you can honor me vinnie with a few pictures of stephanie at her best in the mojo forum...