Smoke free mid lease

[jks519]

I live in an apartment/town home complex in Erie County NY, and i just received notice that my building will be smoke free beginning the 1st of January 2011 and i must sign an amendment to my lease for it and will be assessed fee's and fines if I do not comply . When I moved in several months ago we were able to smoke both in our apartment and on the patio outside our unit, my unit is on the 3rd floor and I have an 18 month old child, so i always go outside on my patio. But this new rule means i can no longer smoke even outside on the patio and must go at least 25 feet away from the building. I do not want this to go into effect because i don't want to pay the fines or take my young daughter out with me in the middle of winter while I'm home alone with her 8+ hrs a day. I would never have moved in or signed a lease here under these terms. Can my landlord enforce this and force me to sign the amendment half way through my lease, or is there a way for me to break my lease because of this?

 

[army judge]

I live in an apartment/town home complex in Erie County NY, and i just received notice that my building will be smoke free beginning the 1st of January 2011 and i must sign an amendment to my lease for it and will be assessed fee's and fines if I do not comply . When I moved in several months ago we were able to smoke both in our apartment and on the patio outside our unit, my unit is on the 3rd floor and I have an 18 month old child, so i always go outside on my patio. But this new rule means i can no longer smoke even outside on the patio and must go at least 25 feet away from the building. I do not want this to go into effect because i don't want to pay the fines or take my young daughter out with me in the middle of winter while I'm home alone with her 8+ hrs a day. I would never have moved in or signed a lease here under these terms. Can my landlord enforce this and force me to sign the amendment half way through my lease, or is there a way for me to break my lease because of this?

You MIGHT be able to break thye lease.
Speak your landlord about your concerns.
Try to settle this amicably.

No, he can't force you to change the terms of your lease.
If you sign, it'll be consodered voluntary on your part.
If you refuse, you more than likely won't be offered th eoppotunity to renew.

You might be wise to speak with a local attorney about your dilemma.
The initial consult is normally free.
It'll provide you with a vision for what your rights are.

 

[mightymoose]

The best way for your landlord to implement this is at the expiration of a lease or with something in the neighborhood of a 60 day notice.
If you JUST got this notice that the change goes into effect next week, then your landlord will have a hard time collecting the fees if you fight it.
As mentioned above, your landlord is changing the contract, and that could be grounds for you to break the lease.

Your landlord failed to plan appropriately to implement such a change.