Smell in rental property

Question

I moved into a Grade II listed rental in March and soon noticed an odour on the staircase/landing near the bathroom, like dirty public toilets. The agent and maintenance said they couldn’t smell it, but told me to report back if I found the source. I explained: no blocked or overflowing drains outside, no external drain smell, the odour is isolated to the landing, worse in rain or wind, and not solved by keeping plugs in bath/sink. I also noted I can’t see an external soil/stink pipe, which may be relevant. I’ve tried a HEPA purifier, air fresheners (make it worse), charcoal bags, and odour sprays, with no success. My concern is that sewage gases are escaping into the loft or house. Am I overlooking something, or being dismissed by the agent?

Dominic · Accepted Answer

If there are any sewers running under the property that have cracked or been fractured the smell could be coming from those. Also if a durgo valve is not functioning as it should it can have this effect. 
If the SVP - soil vent pipe is not above the last window of the property this can also be a cause. 
In short there are a number of issues that could be causing this however smells are usually fairly difficult to pin down and resolve. Most cases it's a trial and error game.

I hope this helps in some way?

Russ · Answer

Hard to say without knowing the building but there has to be a soil pipe and must be vented somewhere, even if through the loft space and put the roof then maybe birds nest or die in the pipe. This blockage then causes the back up of smells. Alternatively there maybe a durgo valve that has failed and not pulling clean air in. A few possibilities but it does have to vent somewhere.

James · Answer

You’re not overlooking anything here — the symptoms you’ve described strongly point to a drainage or venting issue rather than just a “background smell.” Because it’s localised to the landing, worse in rain or wind, and unaffected by covering traps, that suggests something like a cracked, collapsed, or disjointed section of pipework, or a hidden vent/air admittance valve that isn’t working properly. These are really common causes of persistent odours in older or listed properties, especially when there’s no obvious external soil pipe.

To properly diagnose it, a drainage survey with a pressure test is usually needed. That’s the only way to confirm whether gases are escaping from damaged pipework or into the loft void.

I’d be happy to attend and carry out a survey myself so the issue can be identified properly, rather than it just being monitored

Jamie · Answer

No your totally right that could be the case the gases building up in the drains

Smell in rental property

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