Both balconies
Neighbours and smoke complaints
A neighbour can complain if grill smoke enters their home beyond ordinary tolerance, or if the building rules forbid that fire. Vecinos y denuncias — neighbours and complaints — are not the same thing as a fine. In Argentina the civil path usually runs through the consorcio and, if it continues, mediation and a judge, with article 1973 as the smoke rule. In Spain the president can require the nuisance to stop, and the owners’ meeting can authorise a court action under article 7.2. Lume does not stop a complaint, and it does not make one invalid.
A message, a complaint, a fine
They are different. A note in the building chat is a message. A complaint may be a request to the building, a file with the city if an ordinance exists, or the start of a civil claim. A fine, when one exists, is imposed by whoever has that power. Often that is the city, not the neighbour.
This site does not say what a fine would be in your city. Those figures change, and inventing them would be careless.
The path that usually exists
Talk. Then the administrator or the president. Then the meeting. If the smoke stays beyond tolerance, or someone lights a fire the rules forbid, the legal path opens.
In many Argentine provinces there is mediation before a trial. It is not the same everywhere. In Spain, article 7.2 provides a formal request to stop and, if the conduct continues, authorisation from the owners’ meeting for a cessation action.
From both balconies
The cook owes care: the hour, the wind, the filter, and not using the appliance as an argument. The person who receives the smoke may ask that their window be allowed to stay open. They are not an enemy for asking.
The fight gets worse when each side wants a sentence that declares them the winner. That sentence is not inside an extractor.
Claims that do not hold
That there is no law. That barbecue is a right on every balcony. That an extractor means nobody can complain. That any smoke is enough to win a claim. None of the four is true.
Questions
Can a neighbour report me for grill smoke?
They can complain if the smoke exceeds ordinary tolerance or if the fire is forbidden by the building rules. Whether the complaint succeeds depends on the case, the building, and the facts.
Does a complaint mean I have already lost?
No. It means someone asked that it stop, or that the building, the city, or a judge step in. The rule applies to the facts: what the rules say, and how much smoke arrives.
Does Lume prevent a neighbour’s complaint?
No. It can reduce plume and odour when fire is allowed. It is not a defence, and it is not a permit.
What if the neighbour grills every day?
Start with the building, with facts: days, hours, and where the smoke enters. These pages explain the frame. They do not draft the complaint or say who wins.
Official texts
General information, not legal advice. Your building’s rules decide the case. We do not draft complaints or say who wins.