this is a backup letter. she hasn't ruled out eviction, yet. i don't expect her to follow through, though....
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In
my previous letter, I identified four approaches to addressing the
problem of continual plumes of second-hand marijuana smoke coming from
the unit below me, which is making me sick/inebriated and rendering the
unit uninhabitable.
I need to reiterate that this
tenant chain smokes marijuana for hours at a time. She must smoke
upwards of 30 thick joints a day. This is not casual or occasional use,
but sustained drug addiction on a level that I can barely comprehend. I
can’t imagine what kind of negligent doctor would prescribe this; it seems cartoonish, truly. I’m repeatedly
getting really, really high on nights that I want to be completely
sober; trying to read when you’re baked is extremely unpleasant. It’s
hard to focus; it’s hard to stay awake. I’m also finding myself with a
smoker’s cough. I can only imagine her own cognitive state, or lack
thereof. So, my claim that the unit is uninhabitable is in no way an
exaggeration, unless, perhaps, you’re a Rastafarian. No sane person
would merely accept this.
I also now suspect that she may smoke cigarettes, after all. It’s just hard to tell because she smokes so many drugs...
It
is obvious that the first approach - a simple request to smoke
elsewhere - is not viable, and will not be mentioned further. This
tenant does not appear to understand the health hazards of second-hand
marijuana smoke, and/or does not appear to be even remotely concerned
about the well-being of the people around her. She simply doesn’t care
if her habits are making the other tenants sick and/or inebriated when
they don’t want to be. Sadly, she may even think that the smoke is
healthy.
You initially decided upon the path of
removing this tenant below me, but have since decided against that
option. I frankly did not expect you to pursue this option in the first
place and am not surprised that you’re not following through with it.
That
leaves us with two further paths to attempt: we could try and renovate
the unit, or you could agree to release me from the lease (with
compensation). This letter outlines my perceptions around renovating the
unit, in a last attempt to maintain my tenancy in this building. I have
decided that I will not sue to force these renovations, that I would
rather sue to end the tenancy, so this is up to your discretion to pursue in order to maintain the tenancy;
if these renovations end before they are successful, i will move
directly to the next option of asking the board to end the tenancy in a
reasonable time frame, and with compensation.
My sole
concern is my health. This is the most important thing in life -
maintaining one’s health. And, I frankly don’t expect the renovations to
be successful.
To begin with, I should point out that i
have already gone to great lengths to try and keep the smoke out of
this space, and that it has ultimately not been successful. It took me
some time to understand what was happening, but I believe the situation
is as follows: whenever I block an area, it merely moves the smoke to
another one. So, I do believe that I was initially successful in
blocking the smoke from entering my bedroom, but this ultimately just
pushed it into the hallway. When I tried to stop the smoke from entering
the hallway, i merely pushed it back into the bedroom. Now, the seal I
created in the bedroom is broken, and the smoke is coming in both
spaces, once again. I think you might want to imagine this like a
balloon filling up from two separate directions, and then popping on
both sides - leaving me no better off than when i started.
So,
it seems to be the case that once the smoke has entered the subfloor,
it has nowhere to go except out; any serious attempts to block the many
holes in my space will merely create more holes, as the smoke forces
itself out elsewhere. Caulking this unit could actually damage the
flooring further, as the substantive amount of smoke being produced
merely finds other ways to escape the subfloor, by enlarging existing
holes or creating new ones. So, in order to prevent the smoke from
entering this unit, it will need to be kept out of the subfloor
altogether. Any renovations must consequently be done in the smokers’
unit, rather than in mine.
If we are to embark upon
this process, I would expect a continuing conversation, as it will take
several attempts to resolve the problem. I’m not going to be able to
give you an easy request - this is going to go on for a long time. I
cannot concern myself with how this might affect the other tenant, as
that basic concept of respect is not being and will not be reciprocated.
But, to begin with, we can look at the following actions:
1) caulking holes in the unit downstairs - especially in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, closets and shelving units.
2) the shelving units in the downstairs unit may need to be rebuilt altogether, as this is one of the worst sources
3) the ceilings below me badly need to be sealed.
4)
i suspect that the water closet downstairs is a major source of smoke
entering the subflooring, as it is then coming in through the bathroom
fixtures. this will need to be sealed. note that caulking the bathroom
in my unit will just force the smoke into my bedroom, and that fixing my
own water closet will just push it back into the bathroom.
5) the
tenant appears to enjoy “hotboxing” the closet, which is sending smoke
into both my living room and my kitchen. her closet will likely need to
be rebuilt.
more generally, i suspect that there is
substantial smoke damage in the downstairs unit and that the only
serious solution is going to be in fixing that, where it is found. all
that caulking up here will do is push the problem around under the
floor. and, i suppose that you’ll have to talk to the tenant about those
costs, as they are ultimately of her creation - this problem is
ultimately rooted in the damage she’s already done to her own unit.
i
need to reiterate that i will not sue to force renovations, because
i’ve come to realize that the damage to the subfloors is too great, from
however many years of smoking however many different things. i will
work with management to resolve the issue for as long as they would like
to try to resolve it, but my next step will be to ask the board to let
me out of the lease. reasonable compensation will be enough to cover the
costs i’ve put into smoke-proofing the unit and the expenses required
to allow me to move somewhere else.
