Under the tobacco hazard prevention law (菸害防制法), a neighbor smoking inside their own home is generally outside its reach, and there is no penalty. The national health agency (國民健康署) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare says a residence is a "private space" and is not among the legally designated no-smoking places; the Taipei City building management office (臺北市建築管理工程處) also says that, at present, no law allows anyone to stop smoke from a resident's home from drifting into shared space. The tools you can use are: elevator cabins are legally smoke-free, a community can set a smoking ban for common areas in its bylaws (規約), Civil Code Article 793 lets you ask for a ban on smoke intrusion, and the district office (區公所) offers free mediation.
Reminder: Smoking inside an elevator cabin can be fined NT$2,000 or more and NT$10,000 or less under Article 40, paragraph 2 of the tobacco hazard prevention law. The text says "inside elevator cabins"; the Q&A compilation of the former national health bureau (國民健康局, now the national health agency) explains that this is not limited to elevators in public places, and that elevators in apartments and residential towers are also entirely smoke-free (2008 edition of the Q&A; the wording of the article has not changed since). This article recommends not confronting anyone in the corridor or naming anyone in a group chat; record the problem first, then go through the management committee (管委會). For how the rules are interpreted, rely on the explanations of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the local health bureaus (衛生局) and the authorities in charge of condominiums.
First work out where the smoke comes from
Smelling smoke can have different sources, and the sources call for different provisions. The table below is this article's summary:
| Where the smoke comes from | Routes you can use | Basis |
|---|
| A neighbor smoking inside their home, on a balcony or in a bathroom | The tobacco hazard prevention law does not cover it; you can ask the management committee or the neighborhood chief (里長, lǐzhǎng) to help resolve it, or ask for a ban on smoke intrusion under the Civil Code | National health agency explanation; Civil Code Articles 793 and 800-1 |
| Someone smoking inside an elevator cabin | A legally designated entirely smoke-free place; the smoker can be fined NT$2,000 or more and NT$10,000 or less, and you can report it to the health bureau | Tobacco hazard prevention law Article 18, paragraph 1, item 9, and Article 40, paragraph 2 |
| Smoking in a stairwell, corridor, lobby or courtyard | Not expressly listed in the tobacco hazard prevention law; an owners meeting (區分所有權人會議) resolution or a bylaw provision can set a ban, and when someone violates it the management committee handles it under the bylaws | Condominium Administration Act Article 23 and Article 16, paragraph 5; Taipei building management office Q&A item 56 |
| Indoors where a pregnant woman or a child under 3 is present | The law says smoking is not allowed; the penalty chapter has no corresponding penalty | Tobacco hazard prevention law Article 20, paragraph 2 |
| Drifting in through a bathroom exhaust or a pipe shaft | Mostly a building-construction problem; it can be improved by sealing the pipe shaft and adding a check valve (逆止閥) | See the construction articles below |
Which places the tobacco hazard prevention law covers
The version currently in force was amended on Feb 15, 2023, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare says the new rules were amended and put into effect on Mar 22, 2023. Article 18, paragraph 1 lists the places where smoking is entirely banned. The one directly relevant to apartments is item 9, "inside elevator cabins". In addition, item 1 includes "home-based childcare service venues" (居家式托育服務場所); the ministry says that under the new law home-based childcare venues are entirely smoke-free, so if a neighbor upstairs or downstairs is a childminder taking children at home, that premises is also a legally designated no-smoking place. Item 13 separately lists "other indoor places for public use". Whether apartment stairwells and corridors fall under that item, this article did not find an interpretation by the competent authority on shared residential space; please ask the local health bureau.
Article 20, paragraph 1 provides that in places other than those covered by Articles 18 and 19, smoking is not allowed where the owner, person in charge or manager has designated it as a no-smoking place. Paragraph 2 provides that smoking is not allowed in indoor places where a pregnant woman or a child under 3 is present. This article went through the penalty chapter, Chapter 7 (Articles 26 to 44): the fine for smokers (Article 40, paragraph 2) applies only to the places in Articles 18 and 19, and nowhere in the chapter did we find a corresponding penalty for Article 20.
The national health agency's advice is specific: if someone smoking near your home is bothering you, you can first ask the community management committee to take up a proposal for a smoke-free community, or ask the neighborhood chief to help with a friendly word. The local competent authority may also, under Article 19, paragraph 1, item 4, announce that in designated places that are not statutory no-smoking places, smoking is not allowed except in smoking areas. The agency also reminds people that fans, air conditioners, air purifiers and ventilation equipment cannot eliminate secondhand smoke.
What a community can write into its bylaws
Article 23, paragraph 1 of the Condominium Administration Act provides that, except as otherwise provided by law, relations among residents may be set by bylaws; paragraph 2 provides that "special agreements on residents' use of common areas" and "how violations of obligations are handled" are not effective unless they are written into the bylaws. So to ban smoking in stairwells, courtyards or rooftop platforms, the ban has to be written into the bylaws, and the penalty or the way violations are handled must be spelled out at the same time.
Item 56 of the Taipei building management office's Q&A on the Condominium Administration Act (公寓大廈管理條例問與答) answers the question of a resident smoking at home with smoke drifting into shared space: there is currently no law that can stop it. It suggests asking the management committee, the neighborhood chief or the neighborhood unit head (鄰長) to help resolve it and persuade, and says that, through an owners meeting resolution or the bylaws, a smoking area can also be set up in the community's common areas and managed by the community itself.
The voting threshold is in Article 31. Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, at least two-thirds of the owners, together with at least two-thirds of the combined ownership shares, must attend, and at least three-quarters of those attending, together with at least three-quarters of the ownership shares, must agree. When the attendance threshold is not met, Article 32 allows a reconvened meeting that makes the resolution under a lower threshold, but the other owners may object in writing within 7 days. Once the rule is written into the bylaws and a resident violates it, the management committee stops the violation or handles it under the bylaws, according to Article 16, paragraph 5.
Civil Code: you can ask to stop smoke from intruding
Civil Code Article 793 provides that a land owner may prohibit gas, steam, odors, smoke, heat, ash, noise, vibration and other similar things from intruding from another person's land, building or other structure; but this does not apply where the intrusion is slight, or is considered reasonable given the shape of the land or local custom. Article 800-1 applies this by analogy to tenants and other users of buildings, so renters can also rely on it.
If your health is affected, you can also ask for removal or prevention of infringement of personality rights under Article 18, and claim damages under Articles 184 and 195. This article reads it as follows: whether an intrusion is "slight" depends on frequency, time of day and concentration, and the court decides case by case, which is why the record in Step 1 matters.
The order for informal talks and formal mediation
| Step | What to do | Basis |
|---|
| 1. Keep a record | Write down the date, time of day and location where you smell smoke (balcony, bathroom, door gap) and, if possible, confirm which floor it comes from (this article's suggestion) | — |
| 2. Help from the management committee or neighborhood chief | Ask the management committee to pass on your concern or post a reminder on the bulletin board; or ask the neighborhood chief or neighborhood unit head to give a friendly word | National health agency explanation; Taipei building management office Q&A item 56 |
| 3. Community proposal | Put a proposal to the owners meeting to write a smoking ban for common areas, or a designated smoking area, into the bylaws | Condominium Administration Act Articles 23 and 31 |
| 4. Mediation at the district office | Apply in writing or orally to the district office's mediation committee (調解委員會); no fee is charged other than inspection costs, and once the court approves the result it has the same effect as a final judgment | Mediation act for townships, cities and districts (鄉鎮市調解條例) Articles 1, 10, 23, 27 and 35 |
| 5. Legal routes | Ask for a ban on the intrusion under Civil Code Article 793, or claim damages under Articles 184 and 195; you can first consult the legal aid foundation (法律扶助基金會) | Civil Code; national health agency explanation |
Article 35 of the mediation act provides that it applies by analogy to the mediation committees of districts in municipalities directly under the central government and in cities, so in both Taipei and New Taipei you apply to the district office for the area where you live. After the court approves a civil mediation, it has the same effect as a final civil judgment.
If the smoke mainly comes in through a bathroom exhaust vent or a pipe shaft, the problem is usually that the shared pipe shaft is not sealed and the exhaust has no check valve. For the construction methods, see Does your high-rise bathroom always smell of secondhand smoke and cooking fumes? Sealing methods for shared pipe shafts and Failed P-traps and pipe shaft cover plates: an odor-blocking retrofit; for cooking fumes coming in from another unit's kitchen, see Backflow in shared flues and smoke-blocking check valves.
FAQ
Can I report a neighbor for smoking on the balcony?
Generally not under the tobacco hazard prevention law. The national health agency says a residence is a private space and not a no-smoking place; the exception is when the unit is a home-based childcare venue (a childminder taking children at home), which is entirely smoke-free under Article 18, paragraph 1, item 1. You can go through help from the management committee, mediation at the district office, or rely on Civil Code Article 793 to ask for a ban on smoke intrusion.
Will the health bureau fine someone who smokes in the stairwell?
Stairwells are not among the places expressly listed in Article 18 of the tobacco hazard prevention law. Whether they count as "other indoor places for public use", this article did not find an interpretation by the competent authority; you can ask the health bureau first. If the community has already set a smoking ban for common areas in its bylaws, the management committee can handle it under the bylaws. Elevator cabins, by contrast, are expressly listed no-smoking places.
Will running an air purifier solve it?
The national health agency states clearly that fans, air conditioners, air purifiers and ventilation equipment cannot eliminate secondhand smoke. A purifier can only reduce some of the particles; for how to read the specifications when buying one, see How to read air purifier CADR, but it cannot replace dealing with the source.
I want to quit smoking myself; what resources are there?
The national health agency's free quit-smoking hotline is 0800-63-63-63. You can also contact local health bureaus or health centers, or medical institutions contracted to provide quit-smoking services.
Last updated: 2026-10-31
This article was compiled by the SOSfix editors from public information and is for general reference only. For an individual case, contact the local health bureau, the Taipei City building management office (臺北市建築管理工程處) or the local authority in charge of condominiums, or the district office mediation committee.
Sources
- Ministry of Health and Welfare: New rules expand no-smoking places; violators fined up to NT$10,000 (national health agency; filed Aug 14, 2023, updated Mar 25, 2024, verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): amended and in effect Mar 22, 2023; a residence is a private space; management committee proposals and persuasion by the neighborhood chief; local announcements under Article 19, paragraph 1, item 4; ventilation and air purifiers cannot eliminate secondhand smoke; legal aid consultation; the quit-smoking hotline.
- National laws and regulations database (全國法規資料庫): tobacco hazard prevention law (amended Feb 15, 2023; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): Article 18, paragraph 1, item 9 (inside elevator cabins) and item 13; Article 19; Article 20; the fine in Article 40, paragraph 2.
- Former Executive Yuan Department of Health, national health bureau (now the national health agency of the Ministry of Health and Welfare): compilation of tobacco hazard prevention laws and Q&A (December 2008, archived on the Taipei City Government website; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): the elevator ban is not limited to public places, and elevators in apartments and residential towers are also entirely smoke-free (based on Article 15, paragraph 1, item 9 of the 2007 version; the wording "inside elevator cabins" is the same as in current Article 18, paragraph 1, item 9).
- Taipei City building management office: Q&A on the Condominium Administration Act (updated Feb 24, 2026; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): item 56, no law can currently stop a resident's home smoking from drifting into shared space; it suggests coordination or setting up a smoking area through the bylaws.
- National laws and regulations database: Condominium Administration Act (amended May 11, 2022; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): Article 16, paragraph 5; Article 23; Article 31; Article 32.
- National laws and regulations database: Civil Code (amended Aug 17, 2026; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): Articles 18, 184 and 195; Article 793 (smoke intrusion); Article 800-1 (applies to tenants by analogy).
- National laws and regulations database: mediation act for townships, cities and districts (amended Jan 13, 2023; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): Article 1 (matters for mediation); Article 10 (how to apply); Article 23 (no fee); Article 27 (effect of court approval); Article 35 (applies to district mediation committees).
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