second hand smoke infitration

Started by SueW3 • 7 replies • 2366 views

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SueW3 (Colorado)
Posts: 14

Posted:

Oh boy, where to start. We have a homeowner commplaing of second hand smoke infiltrating into her townhome. The smoking neighbor lived there before she moved in. She said it was not a problem for two years. Now she states her unit is inhabitable because it is affecting her health - she has asthma. She is using all the terminology one would use when planning to use the Federal Fair Housing Act for leverage. We are going to have all homeowners vote on making this a smoke-free community but there doesn't seem to be enough support for it. Here's the dilemma............without a non-smoking policy the board cannot regulate a homeowners smoking habits yet she is threatening to sue the HOA because her house in inhabitable. There is nothing wrong with the adjoining wall and the complaining homeowner even admits that rebuilding the wall will not completely stop infiltration of smoke. We have asked the adjacent homeowner to do everything possible to mitigate the problem before this escalates into a lawsuit - however, he will not stop smoking. We have referred them to our city's free mediation services which did not resolve the problem. We also told the complaining homeowner that in the absence of a non-smoking policy this is between the two homeowners. Has anyone had successful resolution of a situation like this?? Any ideas? Rebuilding the wall is not going to happen unless the homeowners involved want to pay for it. We contacted an attorney and got your usual vague answer regarding the HOA's responsibility - "it depends". anyone know what the HOA's is responsible for in this situation?
Thanks in advance for any responses!!

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

http://www.cohoalaw.com/covenant-enforcement-jefferson-county-district-court-rules-hoa-can-ban-smoking-in-units.html

http://www.cohoalaw.com/covenant-enforcement-clearing-the-air-dealing-with-secondhand-smoke.html

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10336501/detail.html

Google banning smoking in Colorado HOA and you'll find many more entries.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

The wall between 2 'units' should be a firewall as per ALL codes ... how is smoke penetrating a code compliant firewall?

If it actually penetrating the firewall then the HOA must rebuild the wall to be code compliant.

SueW3 (Colorado)
Posts: 14

Posted:

Thank you Glen - I had read all those. I do know you can make a community non-smoking but as I mentioned, an informal poll suggested that not enough homeowners would vote for it. That leaves us with the complaining homeowner wanting the HOA to remedy the situation but I don't know how we're supposed to do it if homeowners are allowed to smoke.

SueW3 (Colorado)
Posts: 14

Posted:

Based on all the research I did even a well constructed firewall will not completely eliminate the ability of cigarette smoke to infiltrate through the wall. The wall was built to code at the time of construction. The attorney we talked to said the HOA does not have to rebuild the wall unless there is something structurally wrong with it. If the for any reason the wall was involved in some sort of renovation it would of course be subject to the existing code. Again, smoke still manages to seep through.

FYI, the units do not have a shared hallway and all units have self contained heating/ventilation/ducts, etc.

SureshD
Posts: 268

Posted:

Have you determined the point of infiltration?

It must be due to a pressure differential somewhere
Here is a situation I am familiar with, briefly...

A four unit townhome with the toilet, bathroom fan and dryer vents for all 4 units collocated in the center of the roof under a common hood.

Same thing, smoke infiltration BUT seemingly concentrated in the downstairs 1/2 bath that contained the waser/dryer.

Fast forward...
One owner liked to smoke in the 1/2 bath. He also stopped using the dryer filter and eventually clogged the vents on the common hood.

When he would smoke in the 1/2 bath with the fan on so it would remove the smoke up into the common hood. This pressure would then push down his bathroom fan's output (smoke) into the other three units.

This "bypassed" the firewall "sort-of-speak".

Cleaning the common roof hood and instructing him to use the dryer filter solved the problem.

SueW3 (Colorado)
Posts: 14

Posted:

As far as I know nothing is shared between units - all units have their own separate vents for dryers/bathrooms/etc. Oddly, the smoker actually has a radon ventilation system installed in his unit. I would think this would create negative pressure that, if anything, would pull air from the complaining homeowner's unit. Not the other way around.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062

Posted:

Sue,

I live in a townhouse, built in the lat 70s, where the common wall settled enough that there was a gap between the units near the roof line (enough that a significant air flow was noticed). It would not have been discovered except for having some work done in the attic. All units, unless modified, also has bathroom vents discharging inside the attic at the roofs ridge vent and not actually outside. If you have a similar situation, this could be the cause of the smoke infiltration.

My Association has the common wall as a shared responsibility between the property owners so the Association would not be involved. However, since it appears that you are involved, I would recommend the following:

1. Check for settling of the common wall (including an inspection in the attic of both units). Look for cracks and/or separation, sealing with concrete as needed.

2. If any vents open only to the attic ridge vent, redirect these outside.

This may or may not help at minimal cost (and show that the Association attempted to address the issue).

Tim

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