Bought a flat, very bad smell please help im struggling

billiepiper14

Hi

My Daughter lives at the other side of the country and she recently bought her first property which is a massive thing for her as prices where she lives are great. She made her offer in late March and it completed a few days ago. Two friends viewed the flat with her as me and her Dad are at the other side of the country (i now regret this so much that we didn’t go look and feel so unbelievably low and almost suicidal)

When she moved in there was rotting food and maggots in the fridge which had been left at the property which she cleared away and eradicated the smell completely.

After this it became obvious there was another strong smell at play and after some investigation to her horror she found the bin store was below her flat and the smell in her flat was the same as in the bin store. She texted me in middle of night saying she felt such an idiot for not realising and that she felt she had made a massive mistake. There were doors under her flat which she did see but had no signage like the other bin store further along which clearly said bin store on the outside of it. Ive barely ate or slept since and being so far away is killing me.

Me & her Dad went down to help her clean for a few days and the smell is horrendous under the bath where there are holes for the pipe work. We decided not to deal the holes just yet as we had contacted the management company believing that they would come to see what was happening and would offer help so left them open so they would know what the issue is. On the contrary, they have said, never had complaint in decades, we knew bin store was there when we purchased and this is a case of caveat emptor. They have said there is nothing to address here as they can’t stop smells entering through the windows but we really don’t feel that’s where they are coming from at all. Under the bath and the bathroom as a whole smells strongly just like the bins.

They are the large communal roller bins. We have made contact with local council to see if bins can be returned with lids down as they are currently returned with lids jammed up against walk. We asked management if the lesser used bin store (bigger, better ventilated and with less refuge bins and more recycling bins could maybe swap for some of these household waste bins under our flat and then both stores then have 50/50 as the recycling bins dont produce the odour. Management have stated thats up to the council they have asked them before and they said no so we can ask them which we have.

Where do we go from here please ? Our thoughts were to try and ask the fire service home visits to come and asses as we feel if the odour is entering the subfloor void then there is a risk that smoke will in the event of a fire. We have paperwork from solicitor which mentions in the fire safety report that there are holes & cracks but we don’t know where they are and management are saying that relates to an electric cupboard although that does not appear to be the case to us. I’ve tried the council environment authority and they can only help should everything else be tried like lids down on bins etc which all that is out of our hands.

Please only comment if you have advise as I don’t think I can bear any comments pointing out my Daughter has been stupid as she is already saying this and I feel so sorry for her, it’s such a big mistake to make. The other thing is we went down to help her vacate her previous rental 6 weeks into the buying process and if we had waited for her to finish work we would of gone over to see the flat and area from the outside and we may have spotted it ourself but my cat at home which my Daughter was looking after had gone missing so we headed home as soon as we had cleaned and packed up the flat. I now have to live with the uncertainty of could I have prevented this.

We think we will need to put a new bathroom in as it’s very tired and means we can rip out the floor take a good look whats going on underneath and seal it. My big worry is the odour just enters the flat somewhere else ?

Please if anyone has any advise or knowledge no matter how small I would be so grateful as im barely functioning I feel that poorly. I keep imagining how excited she should be and it’s tearing my heart apart.

Thankyou so much for reading.

anselld

The obvious place to start seems to be the holes under the bath which can be filled with fire rated expanding foam. Have a look also from the other side (the bin store).. are there any obvious routes visible from inside?

Ultimately a positive input ventilation system (PIV) may be the answer but it depends where it would be able to get its input from - probably not so easy in a flat.

billiepiper14

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087961#Comment_82087961

hello Thankyou for your reply. Do you think once the holes are filled the smell may force out at another area within the flat ?

anselld

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087965#Comment_82087965

It is possible if the smell is travelling around some sort of service void. However, there are only so many possible entry points into the flat so it is a question of tracking them down one-by-one.

billiepiper14

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087971#Comment_82087971

thank you do you mean like where kitchen taps come in etc ?

WIAWSNB

Could your daughter take clear internal pics of this bin store? How large is it?

That may be the starting point - examine the whole ceiling and walls for every single gap, and have them sealed.

The ManCo were dismissive as they claim no-one else has complained about this, but I presume a rep didn't actually attend your flat to confirm whether there was an issue? If they had, would the bad bin store smell have been obvious? If so, could you insist one attends? Escalate it formally if they don't.

The situation may be seasonal, with this exceptional hot spell making it noticeable when it otherwise wouldn't be, so possibly no-one else did find it a nuisance. Most lease deeds have clauses on 'rights' and expectations, which might have one that could be employed here, since this issue would spoil anyone's rightful enjoyment of their home.

Worth contacting Environmental Health for advice too? As far as I know, food waste collection is usually weekly, for the simple reason that any longer can present a hazard. A reliable weekly collection should, I think, prevent most maggoty issues. So, anything failing there? Should food waste be kept separate - with its own bin? Is it being? Are conditions being breached?

If any of this is being caused by other residents failing to follow rools, then the ManCo should be acting on this, or the council should.

What is the difference between this bin store and the one further along? Are they meant to serve different purposes? Has it become a free-for-all when it shouldn't be? What does her lease say about waste management?

billiepiper14

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82087985#Comment_82087985

thank you so much for your detailed reply. Yes if a rep had attended they would have 100% been knocked out by smell from under bath they said it’s not in there remit to come out. I’ve been in touch with environmental health and they can only get involved if all correct steps are met for the users of the bins. So bin lids down etc. Everyone is using these bins as they are closer to most of the flats. Management are making out like they have tried everything to get people to use the other bins and already exhausted that avenue they say. Most definitely become a free for all. The other bin store has less bins because they have the recycling bins as well which don’t smell. The other store is bigger with better ventilation as well. Is there a way I can attach photos. The 2 stores are like day and night. Thank you again

cr1mson

The current hot weather is probably making things worse. Definitely fill in any holes that would allow the odour to come in but also look at whether there are holes in the bin store as well. Might be worth investigating how often the bins are cleaned and whether people are following rules in terms of bagging waste etc..

I would also urge you to seek some help regarding your feelings as feeling sucidal not being able to eat or sleep is not good. I suspect others may say get a grip it is just a bin store but I know it is not that simple but ultimately you are probably a caring parent who is used to fixing things for your child and you feel helpless when you can't. However you can support them through it and to do that you need to be eating and sleeping properly. It is the old oxygen mask principle you need to help yourself before you can help others.

Good luck with this as whilst I am typing this and I know it enacting it my own life is incredibly difficult!

billiepiper14

So store one under daughters flat has overflowing bins all refuge. (Bin men refused to empty them as they were overfull)

Bin store two is spacious, well ventilated with only 2 refuse bins and rest recycling. This store has a window

Emmia

I would go round and seal every possible hole between the bin store and the flat - you may need to do this on both sides, i.e. from the flat and from the store.

I presume your daughter didn't notice the smell when she viewed the property? Presumably she did this more than once? If so the recent hot weather would indicate the problem is likely to be seasonal.

As others have said, if you're having problems with intrusive, negative thoughts you should seek some help. Ultimately whilst I know you obviously care very much for your daughter, and want to help and support her, she's an adult now who needs to learn to deal with these things herself…

Edit: the residents will use the closest bin store, so I think you're on a hiding to nothing trying to swap round the stores.

billiepiper14

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82088047#Comment_82088047

Thank you she viewed it late in March but only just completed due to the legal process