straita

By-laws

Can we stop a neighbour's cigarette or vape smoke drifting into our apartment?

Published 18 July 2026

Short answer

A scheme cannot stop someone smoking or vaping inside their own lot, but it can act on the effect that smoke has on neighbours. Under section 153 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, an owner or occupier must not use their lot in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard to another resident, and smoke drift can fall within that. A scheme can also pass a by-law restricting or banning smoking on common property and on balconies where drift is occurring, and enforce it like any other by-law.

What a scheme can’t control

A committee cannot completely stop a person from smoking or vaping inside their own apartment. The interior of a lot is private, and the law protects what a resident does within it. So a by-law or demand that simply says “you may not smoke inside your own unit” is not the tool available. What the law reaches is the effect the smoke has beyond that lot.

The nuisance-and-hazard rule (section 153)

Under section 153, an owner or occupier must not use their lot, or permit it to be used, in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard to another occupier. Recurring smoke drift into another lot can be treated on this basis — the point of contention is the interference with the neighbour, not the private act of smoking. Whether a particular case crosses the line depends on how persistent and serious the drift is, which is why the record matters.

What the committee can actually do

There are two practical levers:

  • Pass a smoking by-law. The owners corporation can adopt a by-law prohibiting smoking on common property, and restricting it on balconies where drift affects others. Like any by-law, it is made by special resolution and registered before it takes effect. (See how to make or change a by-law.)
  • Enforce it, or act on the nuisance rule. Once a valid by-law is in place, or where s 153 applies, a resident who keeps causing the problem can be issued a notice to comply, with NCAT available if the breach continues. (See how to enforce a by-law.)

Build the record first

Smoke-drift disputes are won or lost on evidence. Keep a log of the drift — dates, times, photos, any medical impact, and correspondence — before escalating, so that a notice to comply or an NCAT application rests on a documented pattern rather than one bad evening. A system such as Straita gives a self-managed committee somewhere to hold that record alongside the scheme’s by-laws and the enforcement steps, so if a smoke-drift complaint has to go further, the committee is acting on a file that stands up.

Primary sources