Re: How do you prove a tenant is smoking??? - Landlord Forum thread 354267

Re: How do you prove a tenant is smoking??? by Anonymous on September 17, 2017 @19:36

I am an R.N. and for years conducted tobacco cessation classes at the hospital. I also smoked when I was young.

As a landlord in our state you can give a 48 hour notice for a "routine maintenance inspection" and enter the tenant's apartment for just that purpose. If they have been smoking it you will know. Nicotine remains in curtains, carpet and on the walls. The nicotine residue is very apparent and distinct. If you need to bring an "assistant" to verify your results.

I'm currently trying to get a landlord to deal with what appears to be a woman smoking meth or coke in the apartment beneath mine. The typical smells (this happened on my friend's property before and I know the odors associated with the use of meth and/or coke) are distinct...but true meth or coke users become very astute at hiding the smell (often covering it with excessive amounts of room deoderizer, etc.) The fumes from this woman's apartment have seeped into mine and are apparent in every room of the house (especially coming from the sink drain in the bathroom and from a utility closet between my kitchen and living room. I tried to seal every seem between trim and wall in the utility closet and still the odors continue to rise every day. The woman doesn't seem to sleep. I've filed an extensive police report (with 8-10 weeks of documentation) and yet landlord doesn't want to address it. He "goes to sleep at 9:00 p.m." and "doesn't want to be bothered on weekends" and although he encouraged me to call him, he did not respond to 3 calls I made in one day (and I have been very patient, polite, etc.) The police must witness the odors to render a test (strip test) which can calculate if meth has been smoked in an area (as it creates a residue that can't be washed off with bleach, detergent, etc.) The Health Department also indicated the right of the landlord to come in for "routine check", etc.

Anyway, you can check out the situation yourself (you have a right as a landlord.) And you should check it before it ruins your apartment.

By the way, my apartment was shampooed and repainted just before I moved in a year ago. When I have checked the door to the utility closet (wood) I can smell tobacco residue (which indicates someone smoked there before they established the "no smoking in the apartment" rule.

Best of luck in securing your confirmation. Again, get a friend or and/or assistant and check it out yourself. If your tenants are big "partyers," there's a good chance they are smoking as well. Protect your investment!

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]