To ask neighbour not to smoke in his own garden?

[fope]

We live in a flat in converted townhouse. We are on the second floor. Neighbour is in the garden flat (not shared garden). Our bedroom is at the back of the house.

As it’s getting hotter, we need to have our bedroom window open all night.

Garden flat neighbour is a heavy smoker. He stands in the french doors of his flat and smokes “out” into the garden (if that makes sense).

The problem is, that the smoke rises up and it makes our bedroom stink. Three mornings in a row we have woken up to a bedroom smelling of cigarette smoke.

AIBU to ask him not to smoke in his garden? Or at least go somewhere else where it won’t rise up into other people’s homes. Other people in our building have also commented on this.

I'm a smoker and I'd rather know if my smoke was bothering a neighbour.

When I was a smoker I’d have been happy to move further down the garden to partake once the neighbour had made a polite request.

This!

I feel for you though.

One barbecue gives off the equivalent carcinogens to 500,000 cigarettes. A gas oven can raise benzene levels higher than secondhand smoke.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/15/gas-stoves-pollution-alternatives

Of course she can.

It is his perogative to smoke in his garden, but a more considerate person would go up the back, away from people's houses. I have the odd guest who smokes and tell them to go up the back of the garden.
You could pop him a note as I think some people are oblivious and he may take it on board.

This is rather similar to a text I sent our neighbour - After living next door to each other for several years and being on really good terms she started smoking the strongest weed you could imagine. It felt like you hit a wall of the stench. It was so eye-wateringly strong that for a while we were convinced she must be a growing factory.

She didn't want it smelling in her house so used to lean out the mid-storey window as the prevailing wind would blow it away (and directly down the row of her neighbour's windows, doors and gardens) As her habit increased she set up a chair at the window.

She ignored the message (which she was entitled to do) but we were all a bit disappointed. All we wanted was to suggest moving to the front window as it would trail the smoke away from the houses but apparently (as told to one of the other neighbours) she didn't want strangers walking by in the street knowing her business.

In the summer it was awful. Our houses were designed with south-facing balconies and Juliet doors to be thrown open in the summer. Hers were the only open windows and doors on the row as the rest of ours had to remain shut to combat her smoke and god we sweltered. In the end, we had aircon with a huge filter put in as did our neighbours.

We all were ecstatic when the landlord decided to sell up. I was in heaven during the recent hot weather as we could have all the doors and windows open for the first time in years.

Presumably your neighbour only smokes one cigarette at a time. I doubt your problem is as bad as you perceive it. You cannot stop him smoking in his own garden.

In England (I am presuming that is where you are), we have some fine weather but an awful lot of wind and rain, during which time I doubt the smoke wafts up to your bedroom window. I think you could put up with a little passive smoke, it is hardly likely to do you harm. Keep your clothes well away and use some febreeze if necessary.

I'd ask him nicely if he would mind smoking somewhere other than directly under your window and explain why

I'm

This.

I think this about people parking on the bloody road to (in a residential area,) when they've got a driveway. I know it's a free country, and it's perfectly legal blah blah blah, but sometimes it's a case of 'just because you CAN do something, it doesn't always mean you should.'

As for smoking in the garden though. Tricky one. Where is the person meant to go to smoke? Are they meant to go for a walk in the woods where there will (probably) be no humans to offend?!

It's a tough one ... Thankfully smoking is becoming increasingly anti-social. I don't know anyone who smokes now truth be told, except for 2 neighbours. None of my friends, family, or work colleagues, or anyone in my hobby groups. Same with both my adult DDs. They don't smoke, and neither do their partners. My 2 DD have around 20 friends between them. Not one single one smokes.

30+ years ago, it seems like every third person smoked.

Both side neighbours of mine smoke weed... I can never open my window without the whole house stinking .

We bought a Aircon unit

I'm an outside smoker as well and if someone tacked a very polite note to my door about it bothering them, I would definitely try to accommodate them. I smoke outside because I do find the smell awful. It's a noxious habit to have and I would understand.

If you were to ask him and he said no it’s my garden I’ll smoke where I want
but then he asks why don’t you shut your window? Would you also be thinking it’s my home and I want my window open it’s warm so I should be able to? You’d both be coming from the same viewpoint on your own circumstances. YABU to expect someone to stop doing something in their own home to accommodate you, I personally feel in this situation if you have a problem your the one that needs to make adjustments

I'm with the OP 100%
The vast majority are with the OP

I wouldn't be very happy at having to use my electric credit (for a fan,) because of someone else's selfish stinky habit.

I agree with this. Given what the weather is often like here, there's a good chance that the neighbour wouldn't want to go out into the garden in the rain or cold for a cigarette.

Someone suggested earlier in the thread by that the OP should put a note through his door rather than speak to him, but if anyone didn't have the decency to try to discuss a problem with me, their note
would go straight into the bin.

It is a myth that you can do what you want on your own property. If it affects other people, whether that be noise or smell etc, it can be considered a nuisance.

This post is a good one. You see so many posts of "they're within their rights" or "its perfectly legal". Yes, so is farting in a lift, it doesn't mean its good and right and that no one should ever challenge you on it.

Its a shame you don't have a garden. If he got shirty about a polite request to smoke elsewhere, every time he smoked I'd light a bonfire of weeds - it stinks. Eventually he'd get the message. In your situation I suppose you're reliant on the neighbour being neighbourly, unless you can get creative.

I think you can politely ask but he's well within his rights to say no

Farting in a lift. 😆

We have this problem, only it is the spare room (that ideally my son would move into) that is affected. Worse still, they're weed smokers as well. I keep the window shut all the time but you can still smell it through the vent. I've bought an air purifier which seems to solve the problem for now but I'm annoyed that I can't have my windows open without that shit stinking my house out. Long term, I'm planning to move. Hopefully into a detached house where my neighbours are further away.

I don't think smoking cigarettes in your own garden violates ordinances. It isn't like having a party until the small hours. If OP tried to complain she'd be laughed out of court, as it were. She needs to close her window.

@MsLuxLisbon There are many variables to consider but it would ultimately be up to the local authority whether a smell is considered a statutory nuisance as there's no quantifiable way to measure it.

If it is excessive and seriously impacting another persons life then it could be considered a nuisance. It all depends on the circumstances though.