My friend signed a lease for an apt last week. She mentioned to the landlord that it smelled like smoke and the landlord said she thought maintenance might have smoked in there while painting/cleaning carpets. After signing her lease, my friend started moving in and the smoke smell got worse. When she mentioned this to the landlord, she told her the tenants beneath her smoke and the previous tenant smoked. We decided the smell is getting worse because it is coming up from the downstairs tenant's apt. Can she legally breach her contract w/o penalties? Her son is having symptoms of allergic reaction including burning eyes, nose and throat and coughing but only when in the apt.

Please advise. The management is sidestepping.

Was the issue of having a smoke-free apartment brought up prior to signing the lease?

She's also going to have to be able to prove that the downstairs tenants are smoking so heavily that it's affecting her lifestyle, or simply hope that a judge believes her word against the landlord's.