Gossip: landlady right to evict stinky smoker

The 74-year-old man was told to leave his home because he smoked too much, and it was stinking out the rest of the building. A judge in Düsseldorf told him on Friday that he has no right to appeal the decision.

When the evicted tenant took the issue to the administrative court in Dusseldorf, a judge told him his landlady had been well within her rights to evict him as he was endangering his neighbours' health.

Protecting the others in the building took legal priority over established rights of the smoker to stay in his home, said the judge.

The judge also said the man would have little chance of success if he tried to appeal the move and refused his application to have his legal costs covered by the state.

The court, which is due to reach a formal ruling on the case later this month, would base its decision on the "changed assessment of the dangers of passive smoking," said a court spokesman.