HOUSERULES – Smoking is NOT ALLOWED inside your accommodation!
It is forbidden to smoke inside the building or your studio. While you received the rental offer, it was clearly stated you applied for a NON SMOKINg studio. Following that you have signed a contract and accepted on houserules and building policy, this is a contractual obligation under Art. 14$3 and Art. 15$3 not an optional recommendation. The non smoking condition makes part of an official agreements and mandatory to be followed.
Smoking is allowed ONLY outside. Why?
Fire safety: Smoking indoors creates a fire risk in a residential building shared by many people. Please respect the safety of everyone living here.
- Fire insurance and liability: Smoking indoors breaches your rental agreement and may affect insurance coverage if a fire occurs. Consider that if the insurer refuses coverage, the person responsible will be held personally liable for the resulting damage and costs, before lighting it up inside.
- Smoke detectors and false alarms: Smoking inside your studio may trigger the building’s smoke detectors and set off the fire alarm. This can lead to special interventions and associated costs, which will be charged to the person responsible for the false alarm. False alarms cause disturbance and frustration for fellow tenants and other residents. More importantly, repeated false alarms can lead people to underestimate or ignore a future alarm, potentially putting lives at risk if a real fire breaks out.
Never compromise everyone’s safety by smoking indoors.
- Damage and additional costs: Smoke leaves persistent odors and nicotine stains on walls, ceilings, curtains and furniture.
If you breach the smoking ban, you will be held responsible for the reasonable costs of cleaning, odor removal and repairs resulting from the breach. - Respect your fellow tenants: Smoke and odors will spread through open windows, ventilation and common areas, disturbing other tenants and neighbors.
Smoking just outside your window is not a solution, as smoke can enter neighboring studios, including those on higher floors. It will also leave smell to your curtains and may still decline false alarms. - Health: Second-hand smoke affects other people too. Everyone deserves a clean and healthy living environment.
Where can you smoke?
Smoking is permitted outdoors, provided you respect the applicable local rules and keep a sufficient distance from windows, doors and air intakes.
There is a small park next to the church where you can take a short walk and smoke away from the building.
Please do not smoke directly in front of, underneath or immediately beside the building’s windows and doors.
Many residents regularly open their windows to ventilate their studios and maintain a healthy indoor climate. Smoke drifting inside can seriously affect their comfort and quality of life.
This policy also applies to e-cigarettes and vaporizers.
What if a fellow tenant is smoking inside??
If smoke enters your studio, the first step will be to find out where it comes from. Does it come from the ventilation shafts? Or does it come in through the windo?
Once you know where it comes form the next step will be to politely address the issue with your neighbour.
As smoking inside the accommodation is prohibited under the rental rules, all our tenants are expected to respect this policy and each other’s right to a pleasant living environment.
If this does not solev the problem and your fellow tenant continues smoking inside, the next step will be to contact your landlord and provide him with clear and accurate information so he can involve in the conversation.
Some interesting info:
Nicotine clean-up, reference prices in Belgium
Find several published price references from Belgian cleaning and specialist remediation companies below. They provide a useful starting point, to estimate the cost of ignoring the smoking ban and the cleaning up afterwards.
|
Type of work |
Published reference price |
Source |
|---|---|---|
|
Nicotine removal from surfaces |
Approx. €25/m² |
opruimwerken.vlaanderen
|
|
Deep cleaning, including heavy nicotine contamination |
From €10/m² |
Clean-Force
|
|
Cleaning walls and ceilings after smoke damage |
€8–€15/m² |
schoonmaakbedrijf.be
|
|
Professional odour treatment |
€150–€500 per room, depending on treatment |
schoonmaakbedrijf.be
|
|
Specialist nicotine cleaning |
Individual quotation; scope-dependent |
Hazard Cleaning
|
These are published reference prices, not confirmed quotations for your studios. Some are explicitly exclusive of VAT, and the extent of work included differs between providers.
What would budget for one studio?
For a furnished studio with a kitchenette, private bathroom, walls, ceiling and furniture,the following provisional budgeting estimates, based on the published prices above and the likely work involved couold be applied.
These three ranges are working estimates, not published fixed prices for a student studio. Actual costs depend on the condition of the studio, the surfaces affected, labour and whether repainting or replacement of materials is necessary to remove all stains and odor.
