Tenant complaining of random smells

[Deleted User]

tink_1983 said:

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

Agree with this. Sounds like it could be cooking from neighbouring flats, and maybe the musty smell is the post-cooking smell after the main meal. Maybe a decent humidifier would be helpful.

cattie

How on earth does he expect you to check behind walls? As already mentioned, if something was behind a wall the smell would be there all the time & wouldn't change from one aroma to another at different times of the day.

You sound a very good landlord & on good terms with your tenant & have done a lot to try to get to the bottom of this complaint. However I think now I'd be tempted to tell the tenant you've gone as far as you can to try to help & all you can suggest now is that he tries to find alternative accomodation if he can't really live with the smells that are bothering him alone.

SpiderLegs

FishermanBear said:

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. 

Well it sounds like you are going to spend time and money finding something that only one person thinks exists.

or you could just not and save yourself the bother.

coffeehound

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?

Wonder if the timing is due to wind direction.  If the location is close to the coast you tend to see an onshore wind during the day and offshore later in the night as the land cools.

Could drag smelly air in from neighbouring flats through the underfloor or wall cavity, loft, etc.

AdrianC

The smell is not from within your leasehold flat.
It is not your problem.

If the tenant was an owner-occupier, who would he expect to resolve it for him?

Section62

FishermanBear said:

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.

Do those times correspond with being in a particular room, or is the smell throughout the flat?

Unlikely to be the cause of smells only at those specific times, but one thing to check is the drainage system of any fridges/freezers with autodefrost. There's usually a pipe running from inside the cabinet down to an evaporation pan sitting on top of the compressor motor. Bits of food can enter the system and then sit in the evaporation pan gradually decomposing - aided by the heat from the motor periodically 'cooking' the putrid mess.

But that would happen at random times throughout the day when the fridge/freezer was running, not those specific times.

Unless the times correspond to daily activities in specific rooms (e.g. going to bed) where the smell is more noticeable.

welshmoneylover

Has  your tenant tried bunging  some soda crystals or Zoflora down the plug holes? 

welshmoneylover

Whiffs from the washing machine? Or even his own backside?

deannagone

I would do as suggested above.  Say you have done all you can and can't do anymore, but if he wishes to leave you will let him out of his TA early. This could be a newly developed problem for your friend, or just something you didn't know about.