Renting an apartment in Japan costs a lot of money and effort. Once you able to rent an apartment, you also have to follow many rules during your tenancy. Not following these rules can lead to trouble with your neighbors or receiving warnings from the landlord. At worst, you may even be evicted from the property.

In this article, we explain the rules about smoking in Japanese apartments.

Basic rules about smoking in Japanese apartments

Basically, for most apartments in Japan, you are not allowed to smoke indoors and in your balcony, as well as in communal spaces such as corridors and the entrance hall. The two main reasons given for this rule are the following.

・To avoid causing stains on walls and air ducts

・To avoid causing trouble with other tenants

Problems that can arise from smoking in apartments

① Cleaning costs when moving out can be very expensive

Smoking inside your apartment can cause tar and nicotine stains on the walls, and also leave long-lasting cigarette odors. If cigarette stains and odors are found in your apartment when you move out, you will most likely be charged for any additional cleaning costs required, regardless of how long you stayed in the property.

Even if you smoke under a ventilation fan to avoid staining the walls, you will likely cause stains on the ventilation fan itself. It may also lead to trouble with your neighbors, as explained below.

② Trouble with other tenants

Smoking in your apartment can often lead to trouble with neighbors living next to your room. While it is possible that your neighbors are also smokers who don’t mind the smoke, most Japanese people find the odor of cigarette smoke to be unpleasant.

If you smoke in your balcony, your cigarette smoke may cause odors in the laundry of your neighbor above. The smoke may even enter their room and be inhaled by the tenants themselves.

This also applies if you smoke under a ventilation fan, as the smoke can pass through air ducts and enter a neighbor’s room.

There have been actual cases where a tenant was sued by their neighbor for smoking in the balcony. Besides the legal trouble, this may also lead to being evicted from the property by the landlord.

To avoid these kinds of problems, it is best to smoke outdoors away from public places, or in a smoking area somewhere in your neighborhood.

Summary

In this article, we explained about the rules regarding smoking in apartments in Japan. Renting an apartment in Japan costs a lot of money and involves many rules. In order to live peacefully and avoid causing trouble with your neighbors or landlord, it is best to understand the rules and follow them properly.