A repeat offender of tobacco related offences sees her lease going up in smoke

It is imperative to respect the building regulations when changes have occurred, even if a tenant has been living in the same dwelling for several years: this is what a tenant has learned at her own expense in a recent decision of the Régie du Logement.

It is imperative to respect the building regulations when changes have occurred, even if a tenant has been living in the same dwelling for several years: this is what a tenant has learned at her own expense in a recent decision of the Régie du Logement.

During her lease renewal, the landlord sent her a new building regulation document which forbids smoking inside the apartments. Although the decision does not make any mention of it, it is generally assumed that the new regulation was not contested and therefore took effect. However, during the following months, the landlord entered the unit several times and found that the tenant is still smoking inside her apartment, despite the new regulations. He needed to change the thermostat but found that it was calcined by the tobacco smoke.

Despite many written and verbal notices, the tenant claimed that she was unable to stop smoking. In addition, she smoked with the apartment door open, which greatly inconvenienced the other tenants. Two of them, as well as the person responsible of the building maintenance, testified during the hearing of the consequences of her smoking and the excessive noise coming from her apartment. She likes to watch TV with the volume on high during the night.

In light of these events, the commissioner found that the actions of the tenant were harming the well-being of the other tenants and jeopardizing the peace in their household. He concluded that «he has no choice but to terminate the lease, since a court order would have no effect. The tenant has no intention of quitting smoking, because she confessed that could not quit. »