Smoking and Cannabis in Ontario Condos: What Boards Should Do
(From a Condominium Management Expert)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Governance in London & Sarnia, Ontario
A single owner's cigarette or cannabis smoke drifting into a neighbour's living room is one of the most common and most frustrating complaints a board will ever field. Smoking in Ontario condos sits at the intersection of provincial law, your governing documents and one resident's expectation of privacy at home, and handling it poorly can cost the corporation time, goodwill and legal fees.
The good news is that Ontario boards have more authority here than most directors realize, as long as they act on solid ground and document everything. This guide explains what the law actually allows, how a well-run board responds to a smoke complaint, and where your current management company should be doing the heavy lifting. If any of this feels like territory your manager has left you to navigate alone, that gap is worth noticing.
Can an Ontario Condo Board Actually Ban Smoking?
Yes. An Ontario condo corporation can restrict or prohibit smoking, including inside individual units, as long as the prohibition appears in the declaration or in a properly passed rule. Provincial law already does part of the work for you: under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, smoking and vaping tobacco or cannabis is banned in every indoor common area of a condominium building.
That covers the shared spaces automatically. The decision point for most boards in London Ontario and Sarnia Ontario is whether to extend the prohibition to units and exclusive-use areas like balconies. A board can pass a rule to do exactly that. Rules take effect after proper written notice to owners, though owners representing at least 15 percent of units can requisition a meeting to vote a rule down, so communication matters. Many boards soften the change by grandfathering current smokers with a legacy clause while making every future unit smoke-free.
Where smoking is already prohibited by provincial law:
• Lobbies, hallways, stairwells and elevators
• Laundry rooms and mail rooms
• Party and entertainment rooms, gyms and other shared amenities
• Enclosed parking garages
What Does the Condominium Act Say About Second-Hand Smoke?
Under section 117 of the Condominium Act, 1998, no one may carry on an activity that is likely to cause injury or that creates a prescribed nuisance, and since 2022 smoke and vapour are prescribed nuisances. In practice, that means unreasonable second-hand smoke can be addressed regardless of what your declaration or rules currently say.
Section 117(1) deals with activity likely to damage property or cause injury or illness, and courts have accepted that the health risks of second-hand smoke can bring it within that section. Section 117(2), together with the 2022 regulation, adds smoke and vapour to the list of prescribed nuisances (alongside noise, odour, light and vibration) that the Condominium Authority Tribunal can order stopped. The key word is unreasonable: not every faint odour qualifies, but smoke that meaningfully interferes with another resident's use and enjoyment of their unit can.
This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law the practical test a board applies is whether the smoke is unreasonable in frequency, intensity and impact, which is why careful documentation of each complaint is so important.
For the broader step-by-step process behind acting on any breach, read our guide: Enforcing Condo Rules in Ontario: A Board Member's Guide.
How should a London or Sarnia board handle a smoke complaint?
Start by documenting the complaint in writing, investigating whether the smoke is genuinely unreasonable, and communicating with both residents before taking any enforcement step. A proactive manager treats a smoke complaint as a process, not a one-off email, and keeps a clean record at every stage in case the matter ever reaches the Tribunal.
A well-run response usually follows these steps:
• Record the complaint with the date, time, unit involved, description and how often it happens
• Investigate and corroborate, including a common-element inspection to rule out an HVAC or ventilation pathway carrying the smoke between units
• Write to the resident causing the smoke, citing the specific rule or section 117, and give a reasonable chance to respond
• Offer practical fixes such as door sweeps, sealing penetrations or balancing the ventilation before escalating
• If it stays unresolved, apply to the Condominium Authority Tribunal, remembering that only owners, mortgagees and the corporation can file a smoke and vapour application
This is exactly the kind of situation that separates proactive management from reactive management. Tracing where a nuisance originates before assigning blame is a recurring management skill, and the same discipline applies to leaks and moisture, as we cover in our related article.
For a parallel example of investigating who is responsible before acting, see: Water Damage in Ontario Condos: Who Is Responsible?
What About Cannabis, Vaping and Growing Plants?
The same framework applies to cannabis as to tobacco: your board can restrict or ban smoking and vaping cannabis, and can also prohibit growing cannabis in units, through the declaration or a rule. Ontario permits adults aged 19 and over to grow up to four plants per residence, but that provincial permission does not override a condo rule, and growing indoors raises real humidity, mould and odour concerns that fall squarely within a board's duty to protect the property.
Medical cannabis deserves extra care. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law a corporation must accommodate a resident's disability-related need for cannabis to the point of undue hardship under the Human Rights Code. Accommodation rarely means simply permitting indoor smoke; boards can explore alternatives such as edibles, vaporizers with lower emissions, or agreed-upon locations and times. The point is to engage in the process fairly and document it, not to ignore the request or grant a blanket exemption.
For how day-to-day conduct rules are written, noticed and applied consistently, see: Condo Parking Rules in Ontario: A Board's Guide.
Building a Smoke-Free Policy That Holds Up
A smoke-free policy holds up when it is clearly drafted, properly noticed to owners, enforced consistently and paired with a fair approach to existing residents. The strongest rules leave no ambiguity about what is prohibited and where, and they are backed by a corporation that actually follows through when a complaint arrives.
Key elements of a defensible smoke-free rule:
• Define exactly what is prohibited (tobacco, cannabis and vaping) and where (units, balconies and common areas)
• Decide clearly whether current smokers are grandfathered and on what terms
• Give proper written notice and be prepared for a possible owner requisition
• Enforce evenly, because selective enforcement can render a rule unenforceable over time
• Keep organized records of complaints, notices and outcomes
Consistency and record-keeping are where thinly resourced boards, including some self-managed corporations, tend to struggle, and it is often the quiet gap in a corporation that already has a manager who simply is not doing this work. Strong condo corp management means your company drafts the rule properly, investigates each complaint and maintains the paper trail without being chased.
While you are auditing how well your current company handles issues like this, it is a good moment to check the numbers too. Sapphire offers a no-cost second opinion on your financial statements at sapphirecondomgmt.ca/financial-review-on-us, so your board can see clearly what strong condominium management in London Ontario should look like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can a condo corporation ban smoking inside individual units in Ontario?
A: Yes. An Ontario condo can prohibit smoking inside units through its declaration or a properly passed rule, and the ban can cover both tobacco and cannabis. Boards often grandfather existing smokers to reduce pushback. Provincial law already bans smoking in every indoor common area of condos in London Ontario, Sarnia Ontario and across the province.
Q: What can I do about my neighbour's second-hand smoke in my condo?
A: Report it to your board or management company in writing, with dates, times and details. Since 2022, smoke and vapour are prescribed nuisances under the Condominium Act, 1998, so the corporation can require an owner to stop unreasonable smoke. If it is not resolved informally, owners or the corporation can apply to the Condominium Authority Tribunal.
Q: Does an Ontario condo have to accommodate a medical cannabis user?
A: Generally speaking, under Ontario's Human Rights Code a corporation must accommodate a resident's disability-related need for cannabis to the point of undue hardship. This is not legal advice, but accommodation rarely means allowing indoor smoke; boards can explore edibles, vaporizers or other options. An experienced condo management company in Ontario can help document the process fairly.
Related Reading
→ Enforcing Condo Rules in Ontario: A Board Member's Guide