Neighbour smoking on balcony

[PorridgeWobbler]

We have a relatively new neighbour in the flat immediately next to ours. Now that the weather is improving he seems to spend a lot of time on his balcony smoking cigarettes and weed. Yesterday it was about every 2-3 hours. The smell is horrendous and the prevailing wind flows it straight in through our windows. It’s as if someone is smoking inside our flat. I work from home so notice every time he smokes. Last night he lit up again at 11pm so I had to shut our bedroom windows despite it being very hot. I have young children and their bedrooms also end up stinking of smoke.

I feel I need to say something because it is vile and bad for our health. But I also appreciate that it’s his balcony and he can technically do what he wants on it. What should I say?

AIBU to complain to him?

I wasn't talking about you or trying to persuade you that it's a good idea to give neighbours one's number.

Just answering the question 'I also wonder who these people are, who have their neighbours' numbers....' with a possible scenario in which that might happen.

Really no need for any drama.

Just ask him nicely. He can either be nice about it or just tell you where to go. My next door neighbor smokes cigarettes'. Our houses are joined and his back door is pretty much next to our back door. He used to stand at his door and smoke which then came into my house and made my house smell of it. I politely asked him if he wouldn't mind smoking there if he can see my back door is open as it is smelling of smoke in my house and he apologized, said he didn't realize and he doesn't do it there now. He was very nice about it and understood that as a non smoker with children i didn't want the smell. We get along very well now.

Can you put a fan on the balcony near where the smoke blows in to redirect it ?

Put a giant fan on your balcony blowing the air back to him.

I'm a housing association tenant i can smoke in my house and garden if I want to.

I haven't missed any point, you keep saying he can smoke on his balcony - not true if his lease forbids it.

And that if OP spoke to him about it he's likely to want to do it more, because that's what you'd do and it's "human nature"- again, not necessarily true, most grown up people wouldn't react like this, that's you projecting.

Sorry that was aimed at @BlackStrayCat

That’ls just tit for tat and how fall outs with neighbours start; then you’ve got to live with bad feeling. It’ll be raining again soon and he’ll bugger off indoors.

Highly unlikely his lease forbids smoking on the balcony.

You are correct. I am a secret vindictive smoker.

I deeply apologise to you and will seek the appropriate mental health professionals for my anger management.

Also about curbing my desisre to answer a question asking for my opinion with an opinion.

You have well and truly made me rethink my position on this. I was absolutely wrong.

Have a lovely day.

I will report my opinions and ask for them to be deleted.

@x2boys if he's a private tenant then he's almost certainly not allowed to. In my renting days there was always an explicit clause forbidding it, and every landlord I've ever known ensures it goes in the contract. It stinks out the house and the landlord has to replace all the carpets and curtains to get rid of the smell.

Yuck I hate the smell of smoke too! But sorry I don't think you can do much maybe buy him a vape in hopes he will change to vaping

I had a neighbour who complained when I smoked on the balcony. I did offer to go downstairs instead as it was only a short distance but when I did that they also complained that I was smoking too near to an air vent and asked if I would walk further down the road. They also complained if walked around at morning/afternoon/evening as the flats were poorly sound insulated and they were shift workers. I moved out after a year because of them, they were a nightmare. But I digress, you can mention it to him politely but if it’s a long distance to outside then I wouldn’t bother as he is unlikely to do that regularly. Surely you can just close the window when he smokes?

I'd mention it to him, and he can stop it or not. If he knows his smoke is billowing into your home and keeps doing it, you'll know he's not bothered and not much you can do about people like that.

On the balcony? You sure? Normally it’s in the property itself not the outside space.

It’s incredibly irritating, but something I’ve been unable to solve.

My downstairs neighbour does the same, it floats up to our apartment and through the windows. She actually seems to find it funny and giggles when I close the windows/my balcony door when the smoke starts up. I’m pregnant right now and the smell makes me literally retch and sometimes even vomit.

Some people are just twats and find it funny to annoy their neighbours.

The point is, the cannabis fumes are wafting into her house and in particular into her children's bedrooms. They have human rights too! i.e not to be forced to breathe in fumes from drugs! 😡

Could you put a trellis up at the end of your balcony as a barrier?

If you don't want smells from outdoors to come into your flat through the open window, then you need to shut your window. It's that simple.

You need to decide which is preferable to you - shut windows, or the smell coming in via open windows.

Of course there's little chance of smoke passing through trellis.

@Cattery I only suggested it as a last resort, if other avenues don't work.
There will be bad feeling anyway if he refuses to stop.

@BlackStrayCat You have serious issues, I'm stopping replying to you now.

If he's otherwise quiet and considerate, I wouldn't make a fuss. Just not worth it.

Can't stand the smell of smoke but if he's a smoker how is he supposed to smoke more considerately if he lives in a flat? Your only outdoor space is the balcony.

It's just one of the things you have to deal with if you live in a block of flats unfortunately along with some noise and parking.

Huge industrial fan so that he'd struggle to even light up😆

I would assume he would give a shit, since he also has a child (who doesn’t live with him) and I’m sure he wouldn’t allow him to breath the smoke in.

I’m not sure sure what your “one day of hot weather” comment is about. We have our windows open all day every day so this is a daily problem.