Smoking law
Federal Law No. 15-FZ prescribes a ban on smoking in indoor and outdoor public places in order to protect the health of non-smokers, protect them from tobacco smoke and the consequences of using tobacco products. The main purpose of the ban is to protect the health of non-smokers and fire safety. Therefore, restrictions apply to public places in the presence of non-smokers.
The apartment is private property, which means smoking is allowed in your apartment. According to the decree, this should not harm the health of neighbors. Otherwise, they can write a statement to the Housing Office (Housing Maintenance Office) in their area of residence or to the police. To prove a violation of rights, neighbors can conduct expert diagnostics on the composition of the air in their apartment (non-smoking premises) and use this data in court. A medical report is also provided regarding the presence of respiratory diseases in non-smoking neighbors.
Is it possible to smoke safely in your private home?
A private house is the personal possessions of its owners, personal space and the absence of neighbors living in the same building.
Consequently, you can smoke both in a private house and on the area associated with it without any restrictions.
However, if there is a neighboring house near your home and its windows are adjacent to yours, your neighbor may prohibit you from disturbing his clean air with tobacco smoke. But only through the court, which, of course, is associated with certain difficulties. Not everyone here likes and can defend their rights in court.
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Is it possible or not?
Having studied the existing situation, we come to the conclusion that, according to the new law, smoking in an apartment is permitted if this apartment is owned by a smoker and the smoke does not harm others.
It is recommended to use a kitchen equipped with a good hood for smoking. This will help avoid unpleasant situations with neighbors. Monitoring the proper operation of the hood will prevent smoke from entering neighboring rooms, which can save you from a fine.
Can I smoke in the toilet of my own apartment? Yes. This room is not a common room. Any room in a private apartment is part of it and is not prohibited.
Smoking on the balcony of an apartment can be limited in two cases. First: when several private apartments have access to one common balcony. In this case, it is public and smoking is prohibited. Second: when smoking on the balcony causes significant harm to neighbors. In other situations, you can smoke on the balcony, since it is part of the apartment and is private property.
When smoking in this area, you must not throw a burnt cigarette over the railings into the street and create a fire hazard.
Opinion of residents of apartment buildings
A sociological survey showed that the vast majority of owners in multi-storey buildings are dissatisfied with smokers. They just don’t know how to stop them from smoking. Most often, complaints are made not in the direction of smoke, but of cigarette butts, which are thrown away anywhere. And the result is that the smoking person living on the floor below or to the side causes inconvenience due to smoke. And smokers living higher up smoke their cigarette butts in the green zone.
Many people respond to their neighbors’ claims that they have the right to do whatever they want on their territory. And the most interesting thing is that “their rights reach the point of insanity.”
Let's give an example of a story from a resident of the Otradnoye district:
“My upstairs neighbors recently had a baby. And so they began to come to us and complain that smoke from our balcony was coming into their apartment. As an alternative, they offered smoking on the landing. Our neighbors succumbed to persuasion, now, as they say, it’s our turn.
We politely tried to convey to them that smoking in the entrance is prohibited by law; we didn’t want to pay a fine. But the young mother insisted that the newborn did not want to breastfeed because of cigarette smoke. And she offered to write her an SMS every time if I wanted to smoke. Of course my husband and I laughed. And 2 days later her husband came with a radio call. And when we went out to smoke on the balcony, we called them.”
Smoking in your own apartment (we're not even talking about the balcony) anywhere - the kitchen, toilet, living room or bathroom - can lead to dissatisfaction with your neighbors. And Elena’s story :
“Our neighbors who live below us smoke in their toilet. The smoke immediately enters our apartment through the ventilation. We sealed some places using polyurethane foam, but it didn't help much. The smell of smoke is always present. When they smoke on the balcony, cigarette smoke also bothers us. After all, in the summer the windows are always open.”
What are you now entitled to as an apartment owner?
Comment from a member of the Moscow Bar Association:
“Smoking can be compared to loud music or constant noise from renovations that disturbs neighbors. And here it doesn’t matter at all whether a person smokes in his apartment or prepares some specific dish with a pungent odor. It's all the same. If the owners of other apartments are unhappy, they have the right to file their claims.
If the smoker, that is, the guilty citizen, does not want to compromise, then he will face a trial and penalties. Banning smoking is difficult, but getting compensation is easy.”
Rental apartment
Article 12 of Federal Law No. 15-FZ indicates a ban on smoking in certain premises designed to provide temporary housing, hotel services and temporary accommodation services. But in most cases, the ban is determined by the owner of the home. If he is not against smoking and allows the tenant to “smoke” in the premises, this is not a violation of the law and gives the tenant the full right to use cigarettes in the apartment. In this case, the same conditions apply as when smoking in your own apartments: do not harm the health of your neighbors, do not create a fire hazard.
Where you can't smoke according to the new law 2019
Despite the fact that Federal Law No. 15 came into force back in 2013, some questions still remain open. In particular, we are talking about electronic cigarettes - does the law apply to them and electronic hookahs? The result of numerous discussions and debates in 2015-2016 was the emergence of changes to the law, which have already been considered, equating electronic cigarettes with tobacco products. This means that in 2020 they will be fully covered by the law.
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Anti-tobacco law: where you can and where you can’t smoke
According to him, rooms are rented out in 80% of St. Petersburg communal apartments. And they are often rented by antisocial individuals and criminal elements. Living conditions for neighbors are deteriorating, as tenants treat housing as a temporary shelter and often violate sanitary standards. In addition, communal apartments are often not occupied precisely because the rooms in them are profitable to rent out. If it becomes more difficult for owners to rent out a room, these apartments will be occupied faster, the author of the bill is convinced. Makarov also believes that after the adoption of this law, people will stop buying rooms in communal apartments for the purpose of investment and rental. Now many people buy rooms in communal apartments, since they are more profitable to rent out than apartments. The bill will help protect the interests of room owners and will facilitate the resettlement of communal apartments.
However, the current regulations do not mention smoking in a communal apartment at all . However, if a smoker causes discomfort to his neighbors, they have the right to demand that he stop smoking, or they can turn to the local police officer for support. However, this is the most extreme option, and analysts still recommend trying to negotiate with smokers peacefully.
Communal apartment
On the issue of using cigarettes in a communal apartment, separate clauses have been introduced into the law. Article 12, paragraph 5 contains a ban on smoking in premises provided for temporary residence; Clause 10 prohibits the use of tobacco products in premises intended for common use within the same apartment building and in elevators.
In the case of a communal apartment, the kitchen, bathroom, corridor, balcony are premises provided for general use and are subject to the smoking ban. If a person rents a room in a communal apartment, it is not his property, and he has no right to smoke in it. If this room belongs to the resident, he can smoke while within this room. But in this case (if the room is not equipped with a good exhaust system), smoking can harm other residents of the apartment. Under these conditions, smoking is also prohibited in this room.
The only solution to the issue of smoking in a communal apartment is an oral agreement between its residents and the determination of the premises designated for smoking. It is also worth ensuring good ventilation in these rooms. This will help preserve the health of non-smoking neighbors and avoid fines and explanatory conversations with the police in the future.
How long can guests stay in a communal apartment legally?
The length of stay is not limited by law. However, your rights as a participant in common property, as the owner of public places, are undoubtedly affected by this situation. I suggest you contact them with a written warning not to allow such behavior in the future. Indicate that if they do not change their behavior, you will go to court with a claim to remove the obstacles to the use of your property.
Based on Article 24 of the Federal Law on Citizenship of the Russian Federation in this article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, not a single notary refuses to challenge it in court, to which he turns to the notary with an application to accept the inheritance. If the parties to the will did not invest their rights by virtue of this share, then you do not have the right to file a claim in court for recognition of the right of ownership by inheritance on the basis of paragraph 2 of Article 31 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation: Article 1149. The right to an obligatory share in the inheritance Civil Code RF Chapter 63 Article 1149 1. Minor or disabled children of the testator, his disabled spouse and parents, as well as disabled dependents of the testator, subject to being called to inherit on the basis of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 1148 of this Code, inherit, regardless of the contents of the will, at least half of the share, which would be due to each of them upon inheritance by law (mandatory share). Sincerely, Svetlana Vladimirovna Alexandrova 67452 size 30 Additional consultations for a fee. Aisylu
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How to resolve the issue
The issue of smoking in your own, communal or rented apartment can be resolved in several ways.
Method 1: establishing verbal agreements. When renting an apartment or a room in a communal apartment, you must immediately discuss the conditions for smoking in the room and determine the places designated for this process. If you are the owner of an apartment and there are dissatisfied neighbors, the issue can also be resolved through oral agreements on the time and place of smoking so that it does not harm any party.
Method 2: equip the room with a good exhaust system. If you are a smoker and do not want to spoil relations with your neighbors or harm their health, take care of installing a ventilation system.
If you are the injured party and the first method of resolving the issue does not work, you have the right to file a complaint with the municipal self-government system. In this case, an examination is required to confirm the harmful actions of the neighbors, and a doctor’s report on the health status of non-smoking residents.
The injured party can write a complaint to the housing office, the prosecutor's office, the district police department, or sue neighbors.
After accepting the complaint, smokers will have an explanatory conversation with the local police officer and the first warning about the upcoming fine. If the violator’s guilt is proven in court, he will face a fine of 500 to 1,500 rubles. If the violator is a minor, the fine will be in the amount of 2000 - 3000 rubles due to violation of the law on the sale of tobacco products to minors.
And the management organization may suffer
One of the responsibilities of the management authority in order to properly maintain common property is to ensure sanitary and epidemiological measures, monitor the technical condition of apartment buildings and monitor fire safety.
After all, if, in the event of an inspection, Rospotrebnadzor or fire supervision authorities establish violations of fire safety rules, liability under Part 2 of Art. 6.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation can also involve a management organization, HOA, residential complex or housing cooperative. The fines are quite large:
- for a legal entity: from 50 to 80 thousand rubles,
- for an official: from 20 to 30 thousand rubles.
Expert opinion
Kostenko Tamara Pavlovna
Lawyer with 10 years of experience. Author of numerous articles, teacher of Law
Smoking is prohibited in many places in accordance with federal law. Therefore, a logical question arises - where can you smoke and what to do with neighbors who smoke. Let's try to sort this issue out.
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