It may seem like it’s nobody else’s business if you’re smoking on your private property, but neighbours in apartment buildings across the country are getting into more and more conflicts over smoke drifting into nearby homes and courtyards.
It’s certainly not uncommon in Spain to smell smoke in your apartment if you have your windows open in summer and you know your neighbours smoke.
The growing number of arguments around this subject, however, has prompted many to turn to the law and find out what it actually says about smoking on your own balcony.
READ ALSO – Smoking near kids is ‘form of abuse’: Spanish experts
Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, which regulates homeowners’ associations, does not expressly prohibit smoking on private balconies, terraces, or patios, provided it is a space for individual use. This means it can’t be done in shared courtyards or communal rooftops for example.
This doesn’t mean, however, that there are no limits when it comes to smoking on your balcony.
According to civil law experts, if tobacco smoke or smell repeatedly and demonstrably affects other neighbours — for example, by constantly entering through windows or ventilation — it could be considered an annoying, unhealthy or harmful activity.
If affected in this way, it’s protected under article 7.2 of the Horizontal Property Law.
Advertisement
READ ALSO – EXPLAINED: Spain’s plans to ban smoking on bar terraces
This article allows the neighbourhood association or those affected to demand that the homeowner or tenant stop smoking on their balconies and even to take legal action if it persists.
In extreme cases, judges have gone so far as to prohibit smoking in certain areas or impose compensation for damages.
Neighbourhood associations may also include specific rules to restrict or regulate tobacco use in private areas that cause disturbances, providing that the majority of homeowners agree.
There is a growing debate around smoking in general in Spain as the Council of Ministers approved draft bill back in September aimed at strengthening public health protection and adapting regulations to changes in tobacco consumption.
The law aims to expand the areas where smoking is prohibited both indoors and outdoors, in line with the recommendations of the European Commission.
It seeks to ban smoking outdoors around health centres, educational buildings, children’s playgrounds, sporting venues, bar terraces, transport stations and outdoor shows, as well as in transport vehicles with a driver.
Advertisement
READ ALSO: Six things you should know about Spain’s anti-smoking plan
It is not yet clear when the law will enter into force as the final text of the bill still has to be submitted for approval once more and then be sent to the Congress and the Senate to be voted on.
According to World Population Review 27.8 percent of people aged over 15 smoke in Spain.
This is higher than many other Western EU countries including Portugal, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the Scandinavian countries, but less than France where 34.6 percent of the adult population smoke.
There are also more than double the number of smokers in Spain than there are in the UK, where only 12.5 percent of those aged over 15 smoke.
