HDB resident asks, “How do I deal with my neighbour who keeps smoking every other hour?”

SINGAPORE: An HDB resident, concerned about the secondhand smoke he and his family were inhaling as a result of their neighbour’s frequent smoking, took to social media to ask his fellow Singaporeans for advice.

“How do I deal with my neighbor who keeps smoking every other hour?” the resident wrote on r/askSingapore on Sunday (April 14).

“My family lives on a high floor in a HDB. Recently several floors down there’s a neighbor that smokes a lot, like every other hour, everyday. He smokes in the balcony, in the rooms, in the kitchen, and we get 2nd hand smoke in our entire house, it’s crazy.”

He also mentioned that his elderly parents rarely left the house and that it was “sad to see that their only safe space had become increasingly claustrophobic” because they had to keep the windows closed.

“It doesn’t seem like the one service app allows us to complain about this either. Don’t feel like we can confront him too, since it’s within his house… Any solution?” he asked.

“What you have described is not illegal as he is smoking within his house”

In the comments section, some Singaporean Redditors pointed out that the resident may not have many options because the neighbour was smoking within their own property.

One Redditor noted, “What you’ve described isn’t illegal since he’s smoking inside his house.”

Another commented, “There’s not much you can do. Your home is your private space, even for smokers. HDB doesn’t have the power or desire to intervene.”

On a different note, some suggested that the resident try talking to the neighbour and respectfully ask him to confine their smoking to a specific area to minimize the impact on others or involve the community to resolve the issue in a friendly manner.

Some also proposed alternative solutions, such as contacting an MP, contacting the Community Mediation Centre, or getting an air purifier.

One Redditor said, “You can’t control what others do, but you can control your response. Placing an air purifier where the smoke is most bothersome could help.”

A few others mentioned that they were having similar problems.

One individual shared, “Same for me, got 2 walrus-sized neanderthals living below me, they don’t even breathe air, just smoke. All day, every day. My house smells like an Eastern European night club.

I went to talk to them nicely, asked to consider my pregnant wife, then my newborn, then my toddler…they slam the door in my face and say they don’t want to see me anymore.

I don’t want to live in a boarded up house under AC because both my wife and I have sinus issues. Kid too…”

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