Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Smoky Josephine

Actually there's no Josephine. At least that's not her name. But there is smoke. Where? In our Houston condo unit. Coming through the air vents in the living room.

No, folks. We do not smoke. Hale did thirty or forty years ago, but I didn't ever take up the habit. I was a very obediant girl back in my basketball playing days. The coach said she'd bench any girl who smoked and I darned well didn't intend to be benched. So I resisted the languourous long-fingered sophistication of smoking friends. (My fingers are short, anyway.)

But now we reside in a condo when we're in Houston, a high-rise condo, and the smoke from the rental unit down the hall infiltrates our living room, where I often perch to work when I don't need to be in the office below. (That is a separate matter.)

Is this fair? The law apparently allows a condo unit owner to do whatever he/she likes inside his unit. But if he decided to have a nice bonfire in the middle of the living room floor, would that be OK?

Isn't there any legal precedent for saying, fine, smoke in your unit but you cannot allow any smoke to leave your unit to mix with the common air, and you cannot allow your smoke to seep into the units of other residences.

Don't the non-smoking people who breathe have rights that supersede those of the addicted smokers whose exhalations have been proven to increase the incidence of heart attacks and other health disasters?

For that matter, what about protecting smokers against themselves? The common highways have speed limits, restrict cell phone use, etc.

Any ideas, folks?

3 comments:

CharleyMike said...

I have zero experience with condos. Does yours have a concierge that tends to property management? Or do they just call that person a property manager now? Is there a homeowners association with regular meetings at which similar infractions might be discussed and solved?

If it was me, I'd wait until the stink was next to unbearable ~ then call that manager person up and ask for a solution. There could be a way to baffle or filter the vents so that the smoke stayed home (not your home.. Luck with this ~ neighbors are not always that neighborly. (another story ~ too long)

Ralph W said...

I have no experience with condos either, but I would think that smoke would be treated somewhat like noise. Why should you have to put up with someone else's smoke? Do other residents have the same problem? Maybe there is an equipment malfunction. You could call management and express some concern about smoke comming into your unit.

Anonymous said...

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