Tenant complaining of random smells

FishermanBear

Hi. My flat is in the middle floor of a tenement building. My tenant is complaining of smells within the flat. He says that these smells come and go. It is a sour smell in the morning between 10.30 -12 and a musty smell in the night between 1 - 3am. I am at a loss as to what to do. There was lots of rubbish dumped at the side wall of the flat and I arranged to get that removed, but that didn't help. I have had someone in to check for dead animals, the boiler man has been out to check the gas and I've been out and none of us have smelled anything. No one in any of the other flats in the building have an issue with smells. I believe him that there is a smell, but I don't know what to do about it. He wants me to get someone to check behind the walls, but is that even possible? With a smell that is sometimes there, but not always? What could it possibly be? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Falafels

Has anyone else noticed these smells at the time your tenant states? 

If not, and everything's been checked, consider the possibility that some people can experience olfactory hallucinations in the same way that they can get visual and auditory ones.

SpiderLegs

I love the idea that the smells have set times.
have you been round at those times to test whether it’s true or not?

moneysavinghero

Maybe the smells are coming from the other flats which is why they have no problem with them.

SDLT_Geek

Falafels said:

Has anyone else noticed these smells at the time your tenant states? 

If not, and everything's been checked, consider the possibility that some people can experience olfactory hallucinations in the same way that they can get visual and auditory ones.

My father managed a let property and did all sorts to try to cure the smells that no-one else could detect.  It turned out the tenant had phantosmia (where someone smells something that is not there).

davidmcn

moneysavinghero said:

Maybe the smells are coming from the other flats which is why they have no problem with them.

Yes, could be from something like cooking, or only generated when the heating is on.

But unless the tenant can be more specific, I can't see that the OP is obliged to sort it out.

I would suggest the tenant is invited to get somebody to corroborate that these smells exist as a first step anyway.

[Deleted User]

Could the tenant have had Covid? It's said to lead to not just loss of smell, but also unpleasant changes to it.

Apodemus

SDLT_Geek said:

Falafels said:

Has anyone else noticed these smells at the time your tenant states? 

If not, and everything's been checked, consider the possibility that some people can experience olfactory hallucinations in the same way that they can get visual and auditory ones.

My father managed a let property and did all sorts to try to cure the smells that no-one else could detect.  It turned out the tenant had phantosmia (where someone smells something that is not there).

Perhaps the OP needs to get a psychiatrist involved...or perhaps an exorcist!

FishermanBear

Falafels said:

Has anyone else noticed these smells at the time your tenant states? 

If not, and everything's been checked, consider the possibility that some people can experience olfactory hallucinations in the same way that they can get visual and auditory ones.

Yes, he has a girlfriend there that says the same. I've known him for a long time, since before he rented the flat, so I trust him. I'm just baffled as to what it could be. 

tink_1983

Surely if there was something in the walls it would smell 24/7? That's just logical?!

FishermanBear

SpiderLegs said:

I love the idea that the smells have set times.
have you been round at those times to test whether it’s true or not?

I've been round in the morning. The boiler man and pest control guy were round in the morning too and the smell wasn't there.