How outdoor smoking gets indoors
Older Capitol Hill buildings often have stacked balconies, back porches or metal fire escapes, and many are built around a courtyard or light well. Smoke from one of those spots rises and drifts along the face of the building. A window directly above or beside it acts like an intake, particularly when a fan or air conditioner in that unit is pulling air in.
Many buildings that ban smoking inside units still allow it outdoors, or say nothing. Residents who smoke reasonably take that to mean the balcony or the front steps are fine. Meanwhile neighbors upstairs keep their windows shut on warm evenings to avoid the smell. Both sides can feel they are in the right, which is why clear building rules help more than anything else.
Fire escapes are a special case. They are emergency exits, and using them as smoking spots or storing ashtrays and chairs on them can raise safety concerns of their own. Building owners should check what their fire safety obligations allow.
Options depending on your role
- IfYou rent and smell smoke from a balcony belowNote the times and send a factual message to the landlord. Ask whether the lease or building rules cover balconies.
- IfYou own a condo and smell it from a neighbor's patioCheck the association's declaration and rules for limited common elements. Raise it with the manager or board in writing.
- IfYou own or manage the buildingConsider designating a smoking spot away from windows and doors, or extending the no-smoking rule to all outdoor areas at the next lease cycle.
- IfYou are the resident who smokesAsk where smoking is allowed, and choose a spot downwind and away from others' windows. A short conversation can prevent a formal complaint.
Small changes that reduce window drift
- Close windows on the side of the building facing the smoking spot during typical smoking times.
- Set window fans to exhaust rather than intake on that side of the unit.
- Keep window air conditioner fresh-air vents closed, if the unit has one.
- Ask the landlord whether a designated area could be placed away from the building face.
- Clear window sills and screens, which collect ash and residue from below.
- Run a carbon air purifier near the affected window.
Things to check in the paperwork
- Renters
- Lease clauses on smoking, nuisance and outdoor areas
- Condo owners
- Declaration, bylaws and rules on balconies and patios
- Building owners
- Current lease forms, posted rules and any fire safety requirements for escapes
- Everyone
- Colorado's Clean Indoor Air Act limits smoking in many indoor public places; how it applies to a given building's shared areas is a question for management or an attorney
Common questions
Can a landlord ban smoking on balconies?
Many landlords include outdoor areas in smoking policies. How and when a new rule applies to existing leases is a question for an attorney.
Will odor treatment help if the smoke is from outside?
Not much. Treatment removes residue already inside, but ongoing drift will keep adding to it.
General information for Capitol Hill, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.