One of the first things I
noticed when my new upstairs neighbor (UN) moved in not too long ago was that he
smoked. This was an immediate concern to me since I am highly allergic to
smoke, and if you've ever lived in an apartment you know that it will come through
the walls, ventilation, etc. I mentioned this to the landlord's son (LLS) who
lives in the building and is a part owner. He assured me it would be fine since
the lease states no smoking is allowed in the apartment. I was relieved.
Fast forward a week or
two after that. I was talking to LLS again who said "We may have
to get rid of old boy upstairs." When I asked why he said "I knocked
on his door, and when he answered, he was smoking in the apartment." Oopsie.
Not long after that I came home one day, and my apartment smelled like smoke.
Being me, I marched myself up the stairs and knocked on UN's door. I
acted ignorant and said "My apartment smells like smoke. I'm trying to
figure out where it's coming from. Has someone been smoking in your
apartment?" He said "I smoke in my apartment." I was so
dumbfounded that he admitted to it that I all I could say was "So that's
where it's coming from".
I immediately went back
to my apartment and called my landlord (LL). He said he would talk to UN. He
called me back shortly and said their conversation went like this:
UN "It's my
apartment. I'll do whatever I want".
LL "You are
violating your lease"
UN "Evict me"
LL "I will"
The next morning LL
filed eviction paperwork. He called UN and left him a message advising this had
been done. UN called back a couple of hours later and said "I'll be
smoking outside from now on." LL then withdrew the eviction paperwork. As
my mom had suggested, it seems UN was trying to call LL's bluff. I
told my LL this, and he said "I've done this for too long to be
bluffing".
I was not happy that the
LL didn't go through with the eviction, and neither was LLS. When I spoke
to him, he said he wanted UN out because of the smoking, being late with his
rent (he'd only been there a month or two!), and moving in his girlfriend
without putting her on the lease. Wow, great tenant here.
Fast forward to this
month. I talked to my LL, and he said UN is being evicted. This was on the 10th.
I asked why and he said UN had not paid his September rent. My check had cleared my
bank on 8/28! Apparently UN told LL that he was trying to get custody of his
son, and his rent money was going to his lawyer. I told LL "That's going
to be great for the custody hearing when he has nowhere to live." The
eviction paperwork was filed on 9/17, and as far as I know UN has been served
with the appropriate paperwork. He is supposed to be out a couple weeks after
that. LL is going to garnish his wages for $1500-$2000 to cover cleaning
(getting the smoke smell out of the brand new carpet!), lost rent, etc.
The moral of the story:
Some people just aren't very bright. If you know you want to smoke in your residence, don't sign anything saying you won't. Pay your rent when it's due,
or expect to be homeless. It's not rocket science.
