Tenant in share house left strong body odor smell behind

I rent out rooms in my house and this tenant has the worse body odor I've ever smelt. He's moving out in one week but I'm guessing his strong body odor is going to be around for months because it's in one of the lounge cusions and you can smell it from miles away.

We are forced to keep the doors open any time he's home or else the smell builds up and becomes unbearably strong in other areas of the house. I try not to hold things against people in which they cannot control however I suspect his body odor is due to not showering.

My question is, if he leaves with his room stinking like BO should I be holding onto his bond until the smell is dealt with or is that just part of "fair wear and tear"?

 

Sounds like the room may need "fair air, blood sweat and tears" to remove the smell.

Sugar soap all hard surfaces, upholstery dry clean - they may do insitu, air the room & seek out some chemical free alternatives like bicarb.

 

Hard to see the tribunal supporting you.

A best you may get a contribution to steam cleaning carpets, curtains and upholstery.
Marg

 

The best way would be to approach the tenant about it if you think you might be able to do it in a way that doesn't make him aggressively upset. I had a situation like this with a lady tenant renting a room once. I broached the subject privately over the phone as nicely as I could. She was MORTIFIED, but her personal hygiene was 1000% better for the next inspection and I never mentioned it again.

If it got that far, I can't imagine tribunal would take this well, given you're effectively publicly humiliating the tenant by that stage. If you do end up needing to go that far (e.g. smell requires specialist cleaning) then get a professional cleaner to provide a full report on the cause and solution for the smell- detailing why it was so difficult and expensive to remove.

 

This is a good argument for minimizing how many soft furnishings you provide. I prefer to provide pvc venetians rather than curtains, for instance.

 

Probably helpful @DrunkSailor that you are not sober, but some Old Spice might be in order for your tenant...

 

GITA ( Gas Infusion Technical Apparatus) the place with CLO2 (Chlorine Dioxide) it will remove all odours, mould and bacteria. Standard house approx. cost $400.

Cheers.

 

Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where the valet parker left a bo smell in the car lol. Jerry couldn't even give the car away.