Can they do this legally?

Sadly they can at least at this point. I disagree on the bit while someone is on their lunch break and off property. My thought is it's their time and they should be able to do what they like on it. They don't make people who where perfume or any body scent wash it off why worry about another smell on a person? With the apartment check the lease. If she's on a yearly one there should be something in there about how they are able to change the rules. There should be something about how long of a notice. She might be able to fight it with that but can't be certain. I think it's lousy that they are changing it like that. They should have given notice and said it would happen when leases came up for renewal, that way you'd have time to find someplace else if need be.

what i know of is that in our place smoking in a public places is prohibited however if your in your place such as apartment or anything private it is not illegal and we are free to smoke..but i dont smoke so got no problem on that matter.

I don't think it is legal, but every complex can set its own rules for the good health of the people around them... and any government would readily agree for the good of its people...

I'm not sure where she lives, but a lot of places are doing this now. Because it is under their ownership, it probably says in her lease that they have the right to re-write the contract at their convenience in accordance to law revisions, etc.

I'm not a lawyer but just from the few business law classes I took in college I'd say that the landowner gets to make the rules. Since tennants only rent a small part of someone else's private property then they can be told what they can and cannot do on that property, unless it is specified in a lease/contract that both parties signed that smoking is allowed on the property. Then the rule could only be changed after the lease/contract has expired and a new lease signed stating that it is not allowed. Unfortunately if there is no lease/contract then it is assumed by law to be a "payment to payment" transaction and the owners are free to change their rules at will. Same with an employer/employee situation. The owner of the business gets to make the rules. If the rules are broken then they can be fired unless they have a signed contract stating that they cannot be fired for that specific offense. You can try to fight it, there are always loopholes in the law. But you'd lose and be out a lot of money in the process. There isn't a lot of sympathy for smokers anymore. I'm a smoker too so I can sympathize. Fortunate for me that I own my home and the land it's on. If I had to move just because I smoked I would be very upset. Here's a nice little law for you while we're on the subject of smoking. The next town over from where I live has a law that it is illegal to smoke while driving. Now of course nobody gets stopped just for smoking but if you get in an accident and it's determined that it was caused by smoking (like you drop your cig in your lap and wreck your car or ashes blow into your eyes and you wreck your car) you can be ticketed specifically for smoking while driving. Nice huh?

i dunno the law at ur country.. but it is certainly better for everyone.. why do you wanna encourage smoking among people? huh?

I think they may have the right to say you can't smoke in the building anymore but I don't see how if you go off the grounds that they can be restricted. How would anyone know that they weren't simply sitting next to someone else that was smoking. I would go to the town office and ask what the rights are. There has to be something illegal there.

I think you will find since they own the property yes it is legal for them to do this!

This depends upon the law of the land. which country are you from? I presume you are an American. As far as smoking is not totallt prohibited this stand of the hospital authorities is not legal, I think.

I'm no lawyer, but I believe this is considered legal. It may not seem fair, but you know smoking laws are getting tougher and tougher. I am a smoker and don't know how I would handle them changing the rules for the apartment complex. You might be able to get the tennants to sign some type of petition for smoking rights and present it to the owners, but I don't know if it would help.

unfortunally yes they can do this . because thier is a hospital behind the appartment that your mom lives in has every legal right to do so. i do not know why but they do. good luck

It probably is legal. These kinds of laws are being passed more and more lately. In Ohio, where I live, smoking has been banned from bars, though in many places the ban is not enforced.

I guess from what u've mentioned,it is legal.Coz they own the place and it is their rules which rule!..Moreover,if its a hospital ur talking about,then i find it competely legal,but i dont support the point where u've mentioned that employees aren;t allowed coz they cant afford to lose their job for their habits ...right?

I think it's legal. First there is no rules indicate that people who forbid someone to smoke is illegal. Plus there is a hospital there, people are sick there. If there is smoke, people will be more sick, right ? Beside, it's not for the enviroment of that hospital itself. I think it's okay for an apartment to forbid people who live there for not smoking. I myself, prefer an apartment like that. It felt much more cleaner and fresh.

By making a public place as non smoking the pollution isgetting reduced. It is also good for your mother so that sh can get rid of smoking.

Sadly, they can do it. A good case reference to this is Amtrak. For years they permitted smoking in the club and cafe cars but when they started using federal and government rail lines, they had to follow their rules and one of them was no smoking. If enough people in the complex smoke they can band together and start a petition. I think the legal limit is 50 feet so if the actual complex is more than 50 feet from the hospital they may be able to overturn it. Since the complex and hospital are run in different forms one can not say that the hospital has overseer rights to the complex unless it is a care facility and nurses and doctors go there to check on residents. Best of luck to your mum on this one!

It depends on a few things. Is your mom on a month to month lease or is she on a long term lease say like a year lease? If she is on a month to month lease then yes they can enforse the new rule with a 30 day notice. If she is on a yearly lease then they also can but they might have to give her more notice depending on how her lease reads. You are going to have to read her lease to know what they can and cannot get away with.

Its not the only complex that does that. I guess privately owned they do what they wish. I was wondering though if its in her lease? not allowing employees to smell I can understand. many with health conditions are effected even by smoke on clothing, my mom's a smoker and doesn't smell smoke on herself or others. and its strong. I get presents from her and as soon as I open the box I can smell the reek of smoke. like many smells, it causes migraine perhaps i should become a smoker so smells don't bother me as much!