Strata forced to pay damages after failing to address neighbour's secondhand smoke
B.C. tribunal awards homeowner $2,500 after strata ignored 24 complaints about cigarette and marijuana smoke drifting into his unit.
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A B.C. homeowner has won damages after his strata repeatedly failed to address his complaints about secondhand smoke drifting from a neighbour's unit, the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled.
Between December 2024 and February 2026, the homeowner submitted 24 complaints to the strata about cigarette and marijuana smoke regularly entering his home. He also provided two doctors' letters stating that secondhand smoke poses health risks and recommending exposure be limited. The smoke prevented him from opening windows or using his patio, and at times forced his family to move their baby away from affected rooms.
The strata acknowledged that secondhand smoke is harmful but argued the homeowner lacked objective evidence—such as air testing or building airflow analysis—that smoke had actually entered his unit or caused substantial interference with his use and enjoyment of the property.
Tribunal member Deanna Rivers rejected this argument. While the strata does not have a no-smoking bylaw, Rivers wrote that although "owners have a right to smoke and enjoy their property," the smoke's interference with the applicant's use and enjoyment of his own property constituted a nuisance under the strata's existing bylaws.
The tribunal ordered the neighbour to pay the homeowner $2,500 in damages, plus fees and interest. The strata was ordered to take steps to prevent smoke from entering the homeowner's unit, though the ruling did not require the strata to enact a no-smoking bylaw.
