Smoking Neighbors' Smoke Invading Apartment

[ksdw]

I've been living in my current Michigan apartment for a bit over a year and have had this problem the entire time. I'm a nonsmoker, but both of my surrounding neighbors are smokers. I don't care if they are...but the issue is that they tend to stand out front of the apartments (I'm in a building where front doors open directly to the sidewalk/parking lot/etc) to take a puff. Multiple times a day. And every time the smoke somehow sneaks into my apartment, making everything reek of the stuff. I'm fairly sure the smoke is entering via the front door cracks and possibly the front window (which is old and not the best of quality).

Legally, is there any sort of landlord obligation to help remedy this problem? I can't think of a plausible way to solve this, unless they forbid people to smoke in front of buildings (very very unlikely) or just move me to a more nonsmoker friendly unit (if one exists). The fact that the door and window may not be sealed (if that's the proper term) properly is probably something they should fix anyhow though, isn't it?

I haven't been able to locate much information on this particular topic. Most of the material is concerning smoke infiltrating your apartment via things like the ventilation system and whatnot. The most helpful site I've located is 'MiSmoke-Free Apartment', which I can't supply a link to due to forum rules about not having enough posts, blah blah.

Any sort of useful information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[army judge]

Barring a specific law to the contrary, the smokers and your landlord have no legal duty to change anything.

You, on the other hand, could insulate the cracks.

It isn't perfect, but it might help.

It also could be done very inexpensively.

Before you proceed, (if you are so inclined) get your landlord's permission in writing.

When your lease is up, you can also move.

You might also do as you wondered, talk to your landlord.

See if they will move you to a unit in the back, where the likelihood of second hand smoke is limited.

If you ask very politely and say it's for your health, you just might be pleasantly surprised.