This is an awareness petition. Please don't just sign this Change.org petition.
NZ residents (only) please ALSO sign the parliament petition for the best results - the law can't change without signing the parliamentary petition on the parliament website here: https://petitions.parliament.nz/8307d8cf-9189-4992-1e36-08de3b9661c6?lang=en

We ask to update residential smoking laws to prevent smoke drift from neighbouring properties where houses are 5 metres or less from a property boundary, protecting residents’ health and avoiding costly legal disputes.

I am chemically sensitive and allergic to nicotine, and I love living in my vibrant New Zealand neighbourhood. However, the reality is, whenever my neighbours smoke outside, the smoke drifts through our properties and even indoors, forcing me to close windows, avoid my garden, and deal with ongoing health problems such as migraines, nosebleeds, and the lingering smell and taste of smoke in my mouth and home. We have a chemical free home and paint.

This is not just about me, it affects everyone in close quarters, including my family—my husband and even our beloved cat.  It’s stressful and unfair. We own our home and pay a mortgage, yet it often feels like we can’t fully live in it.

New Zealand law urgently needs updating to protect residents from secondhand smoke in new residential subdivisions. The current laws are outdated and fail to consider how closely modern housing is built — often only 3 to 5 metres apart. This closeness means outdoor smoking at home doesn't just affect the smoker; it involuntarily impacts those living nearby. With our neighbours also working from home (we do) nearly round the clock smoking and vaping is disastrous.  For smaller/medium sized residential land, smoke seeps everywhere like gas and there is literally no corner of our property or inside the house that is unaffected due to the layout and wind direction.

I should not have to have an inhaler on standby and medication in case the reaction escalates.

I should not have to invest in hepa filters which can not run all the time and I need to be able to take breaks and get fresh air. With people working from home these days, our laws are outdated. Chain smoking around the clock would not be permitted in a work environment without a physical barrier/room.

While I hold no judgment against smokers, non-smokers cannot cope with smoke exposure in these tightly packed living environments. Secondhand smoke contains  7,000 chemicals — hundreds of which are toxic and around 70 are known carcinogens.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. 

We need legislation that considers our current living conditions and protects the health of residents. 

Thus, I urge the government to update our laws and create clear restrictions on smoking in residential properties, especially in close-quarter environments, such as newly developed housing areas. This will not only help protect individuals like myself but will also ensure a safer and healthier living space for everyone involved.

New Zealand’s rules for residential smoking are out of date and do not protect people living in modern subdivisions where houses are built very close together — often only 3–5 metres apart and for apartment buildings it is even closer.

When someone smokes on their property, smoke can drift over fences and into neighbouring yards and homes. This forces non-smoking neighbours to close windows, avoid their garden, and in some cases causes headaches, breathing problems, or other illness. That is not acceptable.

• What This Petition Asks For
  We’re calling for Parliament and local councils to introduce a reasonable, step-based system for properties where neighbouring houses are 5 metres or less apart.
  
  
• First complaint: Formal warning issued to the smoker. They must stop smoking on the boundary side or centre of the property if smoke drifts to neighbours. They should instead smoke on the side of the property where the building may block some smoke drift.
  Repeat complaints (escalation): See the proposed enforcement steps below.
  
  This is not a blanket ban on smoking — (although it would be great if all people could be healthy) it’s a targeted public-health and nuisance protection for neighbours who involuntarily breathe second-hand smoke.
  
  Sign to support stronger, fairer residential smoking rules so everyone can safely enjoy their own home and garden.
  
  
• Proposed Step 2 — concrete solution for repeated complaints
  Make this an enforceable, graduated process so it is fair, clear, and practical:

A. Evidence & complaint process

• Resident lodges a complaint with the local council or tenancy authority (if rental). Complaint should include date/time, description, and where possible a photo/video or wind direction note.
• Council/tribunal issues a formal notice to the smoker within a set timeframe (e.g., 7–14 days) describing the nuisance and expected remedial actions.

B. Required remedial actions on first formal notice

• The smoker must avoid smoking within the property area that borders the complainant’s property (the “boundary side”) and must relocate to the opposite side of the house or to a screened area that prevents drift.
• Offer mediation between neighbours (council/community mediator or tenancy mediator for renters). To ensure that the solution works.

C. Repeat breaches (after a set number of verified complaints, e.g., 2 within 60 days)

• Issue an enforceable abatement order (or fined nuisance order). For tenants, the Tenancy Tribunal may issue a condition requiring the smoker to only smoke in an approved area; for homeowners, council bylaw mechanisms should allow fines or orders.
  
  
• Fines escalate with repeated offences (e.g., NZD $150 initially, increasing for repeat breaches).

D. Physical mitigation requirement (if problem persists)

• Require the smoker to create a designated smoking area that prevents cross-boundary drift (e.g., smoke shield, vegetative buffer, position where the house blocks drift). Provide clear minimum requirements (distance from boundary, screening height, placement relative to prevailing winds).

E. For rental properties

• Enable landlords to include a tenancy condition for smoking location; breaches are grounds for Tribunal action and possible termination if the smoke causes health risk to neighbours or vulnerable occupants.

F. Administrative and legal safeguards

• Define wind and weather considerations (e.g., if wind is blowing toward the neighbour, smoking near the boundary is not permitted).
• Provide a clear process.
  Keep records: councils publish annual stats (number of complaints, actions taken) so the system cal be improved.
• If the smoker(s) convey they wish to quit, provide support and referalls. 

G. Public awareness

Councils should provide guidance on how to document nuisance smoke and the step process so neighbours understand their rights.