Cooking Odours in Condominiums

In the decision of Choi v Lacerona, Tolentino, the Condominium Authority Tribunal dealt with the issue of cooking odour transfer within a condominium. The Applicant owner alleged that the Respondent’s tenants were creating unreasonable cooking odours that transferred into the Applicant’s unit and that these odours constituted a nuisance, annoyance and/or disruption under section 117(2) of the Condominium Act.

Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate that the Applicant was experiencing unreasonable cooking odours. Apart from there being insufficient evidence to support the Applicant’s claim, the Tribunal specifically noted that the owner’s expectation of complete absence of cooking odour in a shared living environment is neither realistic nor reasonable. The Tribunal also note that condominium residents are expected to tolerate a certain level of cooking odour transfer as it can be unavoidable in a condominium setting.

Further, the Tribunal concluded that just because a cooking odour is unpleasant to one person does not mean it is unreasonable or constitutes a nuisance, annoying and/or disruption under the Condominium Act. As our readers know, the test for what constitutes an unreasonable interference is not subjective but is objective – meaning that it is measured based on whether a reasonable individual residing within the condominium considers the interference to be unreasonable. 

In our view, this decision serves as a reminder that condominium living sometimes requires that condominium residents tolerate certain interferences, such as certain cooking odours. But again, residents are not required to tolerate interferences (including cooking odours) that are unreasonable or constitute a nuisance as contemplated under the Condominium Act. 

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