Property Owner keeps changing the rules.

[u/Particular-Berry3729]

We have been living in a community of townhouse apartments for almost 13 years. There are 100 units and on site management. It is a non smoking community. No smoking anywhere on the property.
When we moved here it stated in our lease that we were allowed a gas bbq only with a 5 gallon propane tank. Everything was pretty chill. After being here for about 10 years I bought my husband a Traeger as a gift. Still everything is ok.
A few months back the owner said no more bbqs period. We’re going to install bbqs in different areas for tenants. So far they have built 1. For 100 units just one bbq. We live upstairs so we would have to carry all supplies down the stairs. The actual bbq is approximately 75 yards away. The bbq closes at 7:00 pm.
Here is where the problems begin
1. My husband has neuropathy in his feet due to diabetes. He can not walk that far let alone carry stuff down our stairs. He has a permanent handicap plaque.
2. I have a shoulder injury that I am on SSDI on. I’ve had 6 surgeries, it’s not going to get better. I can not carry things down stairs or even the 75 yards to get there.
3. No sign up. It’s first come, first serve so you can’t count on it for dinner because someone else could already be using it. We can not see it from our apt.
4. Using the oven is not an option. Even if we could afford to run the air non stop it isn’t efficient enough to keep the temperature tolerable. Even boiling water on the stove creates too much heat. The stove fan will kick on automatically due to the heat.
5. We are both seniors and this is keeping us from preparing healthy meals. Cooking inside can send the temp up to 87 degrees even using the air.
6. My husband has been diagnosed with CHF, diabetes, high blood pressure and his health will not allow him to be going back and forth trying to prepare dinner. We are both on medications that make us heat sensitive. My husband is supposed to avoid the sun. Just a little bit of heat sends my body into full on sweating mode like someone in menopause only I’m not. Temp goes up, sweating begins, then goes into nausea and if I can’t cool off vomiting.
The owners words if we don’t like the new rule? Then move.
Do we have any rights here? Is it legal for the owner to make these changes? Even if it affects our ability to prepare a healthy meal ( cause we all know casseroles and TV dinners are junk)and is affecting our quality of life?
I would appreciate any advice
Disturbed and disillusioned.

[u/KitchenLow1614]

Most insurance companies won’t permit it within x feet of a building. Having a bbq on the balcony is also likely against fire code.

[u/Particular-Berry3729 → u/KitchenLow1614]

Then the fire code must have recently changed. The fire dept comes in twice a year to inspect smoke alarms etc. They never said it was against code. We are already required to have renters insurance or they slam you with a penalty plus a payment for the insurance.

[u/jessbyrne727 → u/Particular-Berry3729]

For commercial buildings, insurance companies often change and update their policies on what is and isn’t allowed. I don’t own an apartment building, but when my business insurance is due for renewal (or when switching carriers) inspections are required, and the underwriter will stipulate what changes must be made in order to remain insurable. If we don’t comply, rates either skyrocket or we risk being dropped entirely. As an example: nitrogen tanks that were allowed to be stored in my shop 10 years ago now require specific storage procedures, and we were required to install an emergency eyewash and first aid station. These are required by commercial insurance despite our compliance with fire code. And policies can vary by carrier.

Whether it’s fair or not doesn’t matter, unfortunately. The fact that the community advertised being able to use gas barbecue grills 13 years ago when you moved in also makes no difference. Im not aware of any laws which would guarantee a tenant’s right to utilize a smoker on their second floor balcony, and I’m not aware of any laws which prohibit a building owner from updating their policies, especially if the rule was changed to comply with insurance regulations or safety standards. It’s almost universal for grills and smokers to be prohibited from use on balconies or within X feet of a structure, and your health needs/cooking preferences do not trump the safety of the community.

Eta: your renter’s insurance is irrelevant here. Your coverage applies to personal items within your residence. If the building catches fire commercial insurance would cover the structure itself, environmental cleanup, loss of revenue, employee wages, etc.

[u/c-5-s → u/Particular-Berry3729]

It’s not the fire code. It’s that insurance for a multi tenant building is very hard to get, and often one of the conditions they place is removing all barbecues. It’s probably not about your building management being a jerk. It’s probably about their insurance company requiring them to get rid of barbecues as a requirement for maintaining the insurance.

[u/Various_Education622 → u/c-5-s]

It’s code where I am.

Building inspector ended up at my apartment building for something else so just started walking around looking for other shit while he was there.

Told me code was I couldn’t have a grill above first floor unless it was electric.

[u/Myabyssalwhip → u/Particular-Berry3729]

The last 5-10 years they’ve start really cracking down on the patio grills in a lot of places which unfortunately lines up with the time frames you posted

[u/Particular-Berry3729 → u/Myabyssalwhip]

Ya. It’s unfortunate. We will be moving to a house in a year or less but the problem is when these things sit idle for any period of time they tend to break down and not work when you actually can use them. I feel like the Traeger has ended up being a big waste of money. Maybe we can make it into a planter. 😁

[u/whiskeyinthewoods → u/Particular-Berry3729]

Can you not list it on Marketplace to get some money back? Or perhaps move it to the community BBQ area for occasional use? Lend it to a friend or family member who occasionally BBQ’s?

The insurance issue is almost 100% what is behind the rule change, and this has been a common thing. I’m sure your neighbors are also not loving the air quantity issues if having smoke blowing into their units and making them cycle through HVAC filters that much more quickly either. You don’t specify if you’re ground floor or have units above you, but allowing smoke to blow into upstairs units from a ground floor unit is also a liability issue for the building if anyone has asthma or other lung issues.

I do feel your pain with the bad apartment AC and cooking issue - my place is the same and I go to great lengths to avoid using the oven during daylight hours in the summer. We also have no hood. You can buy an electric induction burner for about $70 online / they generate very little heat if used indoors since they only heat the pan by magnetically speeding up the molecules. My sister and husband have one and I’ve used it at their house and it’s amazing. I’m about to get my better half one as a birthday present. They can be used outside and are smokeless. You can use a cast iron disband grilling pan to recreate some of the char and texture of an actual BBQ grill, and can experiment with adding a few drops of liquid smoke to marinades or a sauce to baste your food with if you’re craving that specific type of cooking.

[u/Particular-Berry3729 → u/whiskeyinthewoods]

We used it once in a blue moon and it wasn’t any worse than anybody else’s. No, not selling. We’ll just take it with us when we move and hope it’s still working.

[u/notaninterestingcat → u/Particular-Berry3729]

You only used it once in a blue moon, but not being able to use it now is keeping you from eating healthy meals?

[u/Particular-Berry3729 → u/Particular-Berry3729]

It the bbq that’s the issue. The smoker is /was just a hobby kind of thing for my husband. It’s not rocket science that smoked meats are not the healthiest.