Toronto Landlord Says Air Sensor Spikes Prove Her Tenants Are Smoking, They Say It Is Their Own Bodily Gases, And The Sensor Maker Says Its Sensors React To Breath And Sweat

A Toronto landlord says a little air monitor on the wall proves her tenants are smoking indoors. The tenants say the spikes have a simpler and far more embarrassing explanation: the air readings are picking up their own bodily gases.

A long apartment hallway lined with doors, like the corridors of the Toronto building in the dispute.

The tenants are comedy duo S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger, who perform as Creepy Boys, and they now face eviction from a duplex owned by landlord Tania Anderson. The odd dispute was laid out in local reporting from Toronto.

It is the kind of landlord and tenant fight that sounds like a joke, but it comes with real notices, a real hearing and real money on the line.

An Air Monitor Goes Up In December And The Spikes Begin

In December 2025, Anderson installed an Airthings monitor in the duplex. She logged recurring spikes in volatile organic compounds, often shortened to VOCs, and she suspects someone is smoking inside.

Grummett and Kruger deny smoking or vaping indoors. Their position is that the readings are real, but that the cause is not what the landlord thinks.

VOCs are a broad family of gases that come from many everyday sources, which is why a monitor that tracks them can jump for many reasons.

Tenants Turned Off The Gas, The Hot Water And The Electricity To Prove A Point

To test the idea, the tenants went to extremes. They stopped using the gas stove, the hot water and the electricity, and they added ventilation to the apartment.

Even then, the numbers kept moving. VOC levels still rose when the two were home and fell when the apartment was empty.

That pattern is what led them to their own explanation. If the readings climb when people are in the room and drop when they leave, they argue, the people themselves are the source.

They also went without a basic comfort during the experiment. The pair showered at a gym while the hot water was off, and the spikes continued.

The Sensor Maker Says Its Devices React To Breath, Sweat And Other Bodily Gases

Here is the twist. Airthings, the company that makes the monitor, says its VOC sensors can react to breath, sweat and other bodily gases.

The company also says the sensors cannot identify specific compounds, and that they should not be relied on for health-critical decisions. In plain terms, the device can tell you the air changed, but it cannot tell you why.

That matters in a dispute like this one. A reading that goes up when a person walks into a room is not the same thing as proof of what that person was doing.

An N12 Notice Lands On June 29 And A Hearing Follows On Oct. 29

On June 29, the tenants were served an N12 notice. In Ontario, that form is used when a landlord says she or a family member wants to move into the unit. Anderson’s stated reason is that she wants to occupy the duplex to protect her own health.

The matter went before the Landlord and Tenant Board, which held a hearing on Oct. 29. The tenants are represented by lawyer Samuel Mason.

Under Ontario rules, a landlord who ends a tenancy this way generally has to meet specific requirements, and tenants have the right to contest the notice at a hearing. That is why a case like this can turn on evidence, not just on who says what.

Fans Raise More Than $3,400 To Help The Comedians Fight Back

Supporters have rallied behind the pair. A GoFundMe set a goal of $2,800 to help cover costs, and it has raised more than $3,400.

The campaign shows how a strange story can touch a nerve. Many renters worry that a landlord can use a device in their home, or a notice in the mail, to push them out.

It also shows the power of a good sense of humor. Two comedians turned a very awkward dispute into a story people want to talk about.

The case also raises a question that many people have not thought about yet. As air monitors become cheaper and more common, more landlords may use them, and more tenants may find themselves arguing about what a number on a screen really means.

For the comedians, the answer is a mix of patience and punchlines, while the hearing and the notice move along in the background.

What Renters And Landlords Can Learn From The Air Monitor Fight

If you rent, know what is in your lease about smoking, monitoring devices and entry to your unit. Ask in writing before a landlord installs equipment inside your home, and keep copies of any notices you receive.

If you are the one who owns the property, remember that a sensor is a tool, not a verdict. Read what the manufacturer says the device can and cannot do before you rely on it.

And if you receive a notice that ends your tenancy, read it carefully and find out how much time you have to respond. Deadlines matter, and local tenant boards and legal clinics can explain your rights.

For now, the duplex at the center of the story has become a lesson in how not to read an air monitor, and how quickly an ordinary day at home can turn into a hearing room.

Willow and Hearth