Smell in Flat, LL responsibilities..?

neilj1984

My boyfriend and I have been renting our flat since June '11. Had a few little issues that needed sorting when we first moved in (loose door thresholds, dodgy shower knob, etc), LL sorted them out quickly.

A few months after moving in we noticed a smell of cigarette smoke in our living room (neither of us smokes). It came and went. But then, it happened again. And again. It would come and go. We thought it was coming from outside, but then it would occur with the windows and balcony door closed. We also occasionally get food smells coming in, we've had bacon and a Sunday roast for example, I kid you not.

This has happened also in the middle of the night in the bedroom when we've been in bed attempting to sleep, all doors and windows closed. The smoky smell can be quite bad, I find my eyes stinging at times when it happens.

We reported to our LLs management co. They initially took a while to get back to us because the woman who deals with lettings was off. After repeated reports they basically said we have to speak to building management. Building management said to report to our LL. Management co said again that there's nothing they can do.

The management co then changed. One of their reps called us to ask what's going on with the smell, we repeated everything and sent him our emails we sent to the previous management co. He came round to have a look, he thought maybe an external vent had become jammed meaning that smells could get in, rather than the vent venting things out of our flat. He looked around the flat, did very little, then left.

Now he's saying there's nothing they can do as well.

What responsibilities does our LL/Man co have to investigate this? It's getting to the point of being unbearable, we've started looking for new places to live, but would rather stay where we are, as aside from the smells, it's a gorgeous and reasonably flat in a great location.

theGrinch

do you live over or adjacent to commerical premise like a cafe, restaurant etc or even vents and ducts?

cattie

You are joking aren't you? What on earth do you expect a landlord to do about cigarette smoke smells?

They have had the decency to send somebody round to investigate, found nothing, so what more can they do? Sounds to me like you have a pretty good landlord.

As you are obviously not happy with the situation it probably would be best to move as it seems very unlikely the smell issue is going to be resolved in the way you would like it to.

Cooking smells do travel, so you are being unreasonable to be complaining about those coming in.

neilj1984

No cafes or food establishments round here. We're also four floors up in quite a tall building, anything from the ground level would be quite diffuse by the time it made its way up here.

neilj1984

When there is no reasonable explanation for these smells I expect my landlord to get someone qualified to have a look at the vents and extractor fan in the kitchen, and those in the bathrooms.

EDIT:

Also, when we're getting this at 1am, and it's causing us to wake up with itchy stinging eyes, this is ok? The landlord is reasonable to do nothing? (sending someone from office to have a look at the flat is not doing something, it's making a show of doing something).

Chrissiew

Maybe you have a smoking ghost:eek:

neilj1984

Chrissiew wrote: »

Maybe you have a smoking ghost:eek:

At least then we could perform an exorcism and be done with it!

mufi

Here's one solution: http://www.lime-cay.com/

propertyman

I must say some if these comments about the OP being unreasonable or moving to an island are just plain dumb. :mad:

if there is no external cause it means that the smell is coming in via the structure.

That means that if there is a fire in another property the smoke will penetrate other flats and risk deaths long before the fire reaches that flat.

It is not uncommon in older conversions and I have seen it in new builds too. The responsibility lies with the landlord of the building and can easily be established by a simple smoke test and negative pressure, by fan, in the affected flat.

I had a case in a riverside development about 2 years ago and the smoke came up through the WC floor and bedroom closets just through gaps in the structure.

G_M

Either the smells originate withing the flat itself (LL letting hinself in for a poke around and having a fag at the same time? change the lock You left the cooker on and forgot...?turn the cooker off)
or it comes from outside/the flat below etc - in which case it is beyond the LL's control.

Urban living can be like that - smells, noise, anti-social behavior etc

neilj1984

propertyman wrote: »

I must say some if these comments about the OP being unreasonable or moving to an island are just plain dumb. :mad:

if there is no external cause it means that the smell is coming in via the structure.

That means that if there is a fire in another property the smoke will penetrate other flats and risk deaths long before the fire reaches that flat.

It is not uncommon in older conversions and I have seen it in new builds too. The responsibility lies with the landlord of the building and can easily be established by a simple smoke test and negative pressure, by fan, in the affected flat.

I had a case in a riverside development about 2 years ago and the smoke came up through the WC floor and bedroom closets just through gaps in the structure.

Thanks for your help! Apparently the building is solid concrete between floors, so it can't come through that way they say. I never even thought of the risk if there was a fire in another flat. I may go back to the management co/LL and ask them to do some proper investigation, rather than having the office boy come and have a look at the flat.