Strata smoking bylaws: banning smoke in units, balconies and common areas

Last reviewed November 10, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.

Three layers of rules

1. Provincial law. BC's Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act and its regulation prohibit smoking and vaping in enclosed common areas of apartment and condominium buildings, such as lobbies, hallways, elevators, stairwells and parkades, and within a buffer zone of doors, opening windows and air intakes of those places. Many municipalities add wider buffer zones and rules for parks and patios.
2. The nuisance bylaw. Standard Bylaw 3(1) prohibits using a strata lot or common property in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard, or unreasonably interferes with others' use and enjoyment. Second-hand smoke entering another strata lot has been found to breach this bylaw in a number of tribunal decisions.
3. A specific smoking bylaw, if the owners pass one.

What a smoking bylaw can cover

• Where: common property, limited common property (balconies, patios, decks), inside strata lots, or the whole strata plan.
• What: tobacco, cannabis, vaping, and any other substance that is smoked or vaporized.
• Who: owners, tenants, occupants and visitors.
• Distance: no smoking within a stated distance of doors, windows and air intakes.
• A designated outdoor smoking area, if the owners want one.
• Fines: up to the Regulation's $200 maximum per contravention.

Passing the bylaw

A bylaw amendment needs a 3/4 vote at a general meeting, with the proposed wording in the notice, and takes effect only when the Amendment to Bylaws (Form I) is filed at the Land Title Office (section 128). Expect a lively meeting. Practical steps:

• Survey owners first. It shows where support lies and what scope will pass.
• Offer choices: common areas and balconies only, or the whole building.
• Consider a transition period for existing smokers. The Act has no grandfathering rule for smoking as it does for pets, so any exemption must be written into the bylaw.
• Explain the reasons: health, fire risk, insurance and complaints.

See how to amend bylaws.

Cannabis and growing plants

Recreational cannabis is legal, but a strata may regulate or prohibit smoking and vaping it like tobacco, and may by bylaw prohibit growing cannabis plants in strata lots and on common property. Odour from cannabis can also be a nuisance under Standard Bylaw 3.

Human rights and accommodation

The BC Human Rights Code applies to strata corporations, and a bylaw is unenforceable to the extent it contravenes the Code (section 121). Two kinds of request arise:

• A resident with a disability made worse by smoke, such as a respiratory condition, may ask the strata to act against smoke entering their home.
• A resident may claim that addiction or medical cannabis use is disability-related and seek an exemption.

Council should treat each request seriously and individually, ask for relevant medical information, look for reasonable options (such as smoking off the property, or alternative forms of medical cannabis), and document its reasoning. Accommodation is required only to the point of undue hardship, and one person's accommodation does not automatically outweigh neighbours' health. Get legal advice on contested cases. See human rights and accommodation.

Enforcement

The process is the same as for any bylaw (section 135):

1. A complaint, ideally with a log of dates, times and where the smoke entered.
2. Investigation: council members attending, and checking whether building defects such as unsealed penetrations or ventilation imbalance are contributing. Where the building is part of the cause, the strata may need to repair common property as well as enforce.
3. Written particulars and an opportunity to answer, including a hearing if requested.
4. A decision at a council meeting, recorded by lot number, and written notice of it.
5. A warning, a fine, and fines for continuing contraventions as the bylaws allow.
6. If it continues, an application to the Civil Resolution Tribunal for an order.

The tribunal has awarded damages against stratas that failed to act on credible, repeated second-hand smoke complaints.

Tenants

Tenants are bound by the bylaws, and landlords must give them the current bylaws with the Form K. A tenancy agreement that permits smoking does not override a strata bylaw. A tenant already living there when the bylaw passes is bound by it too, unless the bylaw itself provides a transition.

Questions councils and owners ask

Can a strata ban smoking inside units in BC?

Yes, by a bylaw passed by a 3/4 vote and filed at the Land Title Office.

Can I smoke on my balcony in a strata?

Only if the bylaws do not prohibit it and the smoke does not cause a nuisance to others. Most balconies are limited common property and can be covered by a bylaw.

Is second-hand smoke a bylaw violation without a smoking bylaw?

It can be. Smoke entering another home may be a nuisance or unreasonable interference under Standard Bylaw 3.

Are existing smokers grandfathered?

Not automatically. Any exemption or transition period must be written into the bylaw.

Can a strata ban cannabis smoking?

Yes, in the same way as tobacco, subject to human rights accommodation in individual cases.

This page is general information for BC strata corporations, not legal advice. Your strata's own filed bylaws may differ from the Standard Bylaws. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.

Related guides

Filing a Bylaw Complaint
Amending Bylaws
Human Rights and Accommodation
Bylaw Enforcement
Noise Complaints
Unenforceable Bylaws