J. Sabatauskas, who registered the amendments to the Law on the Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Products Related to them, says that he seeks to correct, in his opinion, a norm that does not comply with the law and democratic principles, when one person can decide for all owners of multi-apartment apartments.
“The current regulation does not comply with the principles of democracy or law. The majority of the residents decide on common property, the common order in apartment buildings, that is, the so-called 50+1 rule is applied here. (…) Meanwhile, the current regulation creates an exception that is not based on any logic, democracy or legal principles, allowing just one resident, who has no exclusive powers and no delegated representation, to make a decision for the entire apartment building,” says J. Sabatauskas.
He emphasizes that, according to the current law, such insurance for the whole house can be initiated not only by the owner of the apartment, but also by the tenant of the apartment who has declared his place of residence there.
There are problems with smoking through the window or near the hood
An even bigger problem, according to J. Sabatauskas, occurs when smoking is not done on balconies, but in one’s apartment, near an open window, near ventilation openings or hoods. According to him, this means that residents of apartments who previously did not have any problems due to the common ventilation system may not only feel unpleasant smells, but also experience damage to their health.
“It is practically impossible to prevent this problem, because daugiabučiai uses a common ventilation system. This means that it is practically impossible to identify persons smoking in the house, who committed a specific violation at a certain time, let alone proving such a violation,” says the author of the amendments to the law.
In the opinion of Seimas member J. Sabatauskas, the current provision of the law regarding the prohibition of smoking on the balconies of apartment buildings is not only undemocratic, but also practically ineffective.
“In Kaunas, 30 people were punished in three years, while in Vilnius – none. According to the representatives of the municipalities, this is because the persons reporting violations do not provide evidence, and they seek to transfer the burden of proof or prevention to the municipalities’ Public Order Departments or police officers,” says J. Sabatauskas, a member of the Seimas.
The burden on services would be reduced
He hopes that after the adoption of the proposed amendments to the law on unsubstantiated complaints, the workload of the municipal Public Order Department and the police will decrease.
If Seimas would approve the project prepared by J. Sabatauskas, it would be prohibited to smoke “on the balconies, terraces, loggias of apartment buildings owned by individual owners, when more than half of the apartment owners are against smoking”.
It is proposed that the amendments to the law enter into force on January 1, 2025.
ELTA reminds that on October 1, 2020 The Seimas banned smoking on the balconies, terraces, and loggias of apartment buildings owned by individual owners, when at least one resident of the house objects to smoking.
69 members of the Seimas voted for such amendments to the law, 4 were against, and 7 abstained.
2024-04-14 19:17:36
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