horrible smell - who is responsible?

[sihuf]

Since I moved in to my apartment several weeks ago, there has been a horrible smell of garbage and/or food that seems to enter primarily from the radiators, vent in bathroom, and under the bathroom sink (and the other day I noticed it coming from under the baseboard in a closet).

The smell was not present when the broker showed me the apartment (I would not have taken it if it had); the only smell was that of the new paint. When I picked up the keys a few weeks later, however, I was overpowered by the odor as soon as I walked in the apartment. Before I moved in I talked to the people in the apartment directly above me, and they said that they noticed a bad smell occasionally, usually when he heat first came on, but it was not often and it went away pretty quickly so they didn't really think about it. I also called the super, who said he did not know what it was and that no one has ever complained about an odor before and that it was probably a temporary smell from the heaters (that had just been turned on again after a warm spell).

Unfortunately, the smell has NOT gone away. The intensity of it varies - some days it is hardly noticable, other days it is almost overpowering. It seems to be worse when it rains and/or is cold. It improved slightly after I closed the radiator valves and covered the bathroom vent with plastic and duct tape - but not a lot.

The apartment is on the second floor directly above a deli, which I suspect is where the odors originate and then move through the ducts/pipes etc. into my apt. One possible source is the cooking they do in the cellar below the deli - producing a VERY strong smell that is the same as what is in my apartment and is noticable from the street when the cellar doors are open. I don't know a lot about heating/ventilation systems, but it does not seem like there is a lot of ventilation in the cellar, so the stench just goes into the building...

The other source is possibly the deli's garbage dumpster which is located below the vent & radiator where the odor is strongest - possibly blocking the outside-air input source?

Anyway, my question is, is the landlord required to take care of this kind of problem? I have looked at maintenance codes/building codes/tenants rights - everything - and it all seems so vague and some of the legal codes are almost indecipherable! I don't want to have to move out, but I don't know if I can live with the odor - it seriously makes me nauseous at times!

Any advice is appreciated...

[joliett]

You are protected by laws pertaining to this.

Warranty of Habituality:
Sec. 235-b. Warranty of habitability.

In every written or oral lease or rental greement for residential premises the landlord or lessor shall be deemed to covenant and warrant that the premises so leased or rented and all areas used in connection therewith in common with other tenants or residents are fit for human habitation
and for the uses reasonably intended by the parties and that the occupants of such premises shall not be subjected to any conditions which would be dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to their life, health or safety.

http://www.tenant.net/Other_Laws/RPL/rpl07.txt

The problem here is identifing the source and having the problem cleaned up.

Perhaps you need a smell-o-meter - but its not invented yet. If the problem is from the store below, must likely the store will have to clean it up. If its from your vents then more investigation is required.

[Mara673]

Hi Ilene,

I've been having a similar problem with the Japanese Shushi restaurant that I live immediately above. I've lived there for going on 10 years and we would periodically get cooking odors and the smell of raw fish. Maybe I was naive, but I assumed they were doing all they could to remove the smell. Then about 4 years ago I was getting a heavy cooking smell in my bedroom at 1:30 in the morning (my bedroom is directly above their kitchen). Turns out that they were under the impression that they didn't have to use their exhaust fan if there were no customers in the restaurant. Since then I have been going back and forth with the owner because he still seems to be under that impression. In addition to the constant cooking smells and the raw fish, about twice a year I get a smell like gasoline engine exhaust and in February they put in new carpeting and the toxic smell of the glue they used filled my entire apartment.

That's when I finally called the management company for my apartment building, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Board of Health and the Department of Buildings. The guy from the management company has called them numerous times and instead of simply using their exhaust fan in such a way as to suck the smell out before it get to my apartment, the owner saw fit to make an "improvement" which resulted in the cooking smell never quite leaving my bedroom on busy nights, the raw fish smell moving to the hallway outside my apartment (and also becoming eye-wateringly strong) and smells from the courtyard in the back of my apartment coming in at the foot of my bed (that includes anyone who happens to light up a cigarette in the right spot). The cooking odors have also moved to immediately outside my and my roommate's bedroom windows, so if we open them, we get an apartment full of Japanese cooking smell that way too.

As for all the agencies I called, I haven't yet heard any response of what they have found, if they have found anything. Then again, those bureaucratic wheels turn awfully slowly and it takes a long time for some inspectors to get out there.

I also read something about how you can take someone to small claims court for excessive noise, so I'm thinking that might be viable in this situation too.

I'm hoping that with all the stuff I'm throwing at this guy, something is bound to stick.

I'm keeping a copy of this post, so if I get somewhere with my situation, or if I find out anything else, I'll try and clue you in too.

Good luck!

Mara