I moved into the top floor of an apartment building a few months ago, and since winter started, at least once or twice a week at night some people go up to the roof access landing in the stairwell right above my apartment to smoke weed. It’s an old building with no central heating/AC, so the smell immediately seeps into my apartment. I know am more sensitive to the smell of weed than others, but a couple times my entire apartment smells so strongly of weed it has made me nauseous and almost want to vomjt.
I’ve politely asked them multiple times to stop, explaining how it makes my whole apartment smell like weed and that I have breathing issues, and they apologize in the moment and head downstairs (and/or just spray something to try and mask the odor), but they keep coming back up to smoke.
Weed is legal in my state, but my building is smoke free. There are “NO SMOKING” signs on every floor. Even if I wasn’t as sensitive to the smell, I still feel like smoking weed in a common access area of an apartment building is inconsiderate, especially after being asked not to, right?
At this point, besides writing a passive aggressive note and putting it on the landing, I don’t know what else to do besides go to building management, but I also don’t know what they’d even be able to do about it. I honestly don’t even know who the main culprits are, but if management comes to them or sends an email to all the residents, they’d certainly have a decent guess as to who tattled on them (and the know exactly where I live).
I’m also conscious of the fact that I’m one of the only whites people in my building (the neighborhood as a whole is very diverse), and I really, REALLY don’t want to seem like a racist asshole/gentrifier/etc. I just want to be able to breathe in my own apartment.
WIBTA if I complained to building management? Do you have any advice on other ways to resolve this issue as respectfully as possible?
NTA. Shared spaces need to remain smoke free. You’ve asked politely, get the landlord involved.
You would NOT be the a-hole. If it is a non-smoking building you should report it. If not, worst case is the landlord keeps your deposit due to lingering smoke smell when you move out.
Smokers (Cigarettes, Weed, or Vaps) are extremely annoying to none smokers. Smokers need to be respectful and kill their lungs where they won’t harm others!
NTA. The people smoking are being inconsiderate, and if there’s no smoking signs on every floor, technically you would not be in the wrong to call it out. They want to complain, tell them to talk to management. This isn’t a small issue. It’s not life threatening, but still something you should bring up with management.
NTA at all.
You move into a smoke-free building. Your neighbors live in a smoke-free building.
You can’t be blamed for expecting enforcement of a rule/right predicted by everybody’s contract.
YWNBTA. You pay rent to live there, and you don’t want the smell that’s seeped into your apartment to be blamed on you. Unless the no smoking rule is recent, everyone who is smoking in that stairwell either signed on knowing the rule is is visiting someone who signed on knowing the rule and still has to follow it.
I think talking to them first was the way to go. Talking to management is the logical next step. I think it’s better than a note which would only increase hostility and achieve nothing. They may or may not know it was you . Perhaps management will say that they have received a a few complaints, so that it isn’t put on one person. But in any case they are breaking a rule– and management should take care of it. You did them a solid by trying to solve it yourself first. WNBTA
Not even the least bit.
They could get a ticket for smoking in the common area or the apt owner would get the fine.
NTA but kind of a dweeb
NTA, there’s no smoking signs for a reason. Takes one person with severe asthma for paramedics to get involved.
NTA
Would only increase hostility