Skunk Smell Issue - Tenant or Landlord responsibility?

[inkarn8.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know whether the tenant or Landlord would be responsible for cleaning up the smell of an apartment after a skunk has sprayed near or under a house? They skunk has already been evicted and barred from getting under the porch or house. It may still get into the yard. Some of the tenants are saying the house is "uninhabitable" per section 10 of the standard lease form and as such the landlord is totally responsible for cleaning, loss of wages, rent for that period etc. and more...

Comments

[avjudge]

Is there actually any cleaning that helps when a skunk has sprayed near, but not in, the apartment? I think time is what it will take. When a skunk sprayed my sister's dog under their deck, and it filtered in through the foundation, the house very unpleasant for a couple of days, and the kids weren't too popular at school, but the only thing she could do (after some online research) was fall back on her "flight attendant trick" of putting out coffee grounds and wait it out. (And wash the dog, of course, but as we all know that hardly does anything and mostly you have to wait that one out, too.)

[inkarn8.livejournal.com]

Yes, from my research I get the same... A chemist named William Wood, of Humboldt State University in California appears to be the worlds leading authority on Skunk spray chemicals -Thiols & their acetate derivatives - and how to oxidize them (when you can)...

" It will not work for skunk spray that has drifted over a large area or is trapped in a house. Only time and adequate ventilation will help in this case."

http://users.humboldt.edu/wfwood/deodorize.shtml

[inkarn8.livejournal.com]

However; spiting a small cleaning service fee may be okay if it buys some good will... So I wonder if there are any local cleaning services that may be able to help. Any recommendations?

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

There not being a solution doesn't change whose responsibility the problem is.

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

I have absolutely no legal knowledge to back this opinion up, but the thought of charging a landlord for loss of wages, or withholding rent because of a skunk spray seems like trying to hold them responsible for the weather being so hot and muggy the tenant is unable to sleep. Or even worse, because in the latter case there's no way the landlord could make a counterclaim that the tenants' messy trash or poor pet behavior attracted the sun to their property.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

Since I'm getting the feeling that the OP is the landlord, I'd maybe offer the cleaning service fee you were pondering, and if they balk, pull out the counterclaim above.

It sucks for the tenants, but holding the landlord responsible for wildlife beyond reasonable repair, removal and prevention of future incursions is, in my legally ignorant opinion, excessive.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

mostly agree, but if the actual skunk smell is under the house then it's also somewhat part of the house and I think it isn't unreasonable to ask a landlord to do something to take care of it.

[emannths.livejournal.com]

Owners are responsible for keeping the dwelling and premises free of skunks if there are two or more units. According to the law, this indicates the landlord should take measures to exterminate the skunk as well.

There is no indication, however, that the presence of an odor makes the premises unfit for habitation. You or your tenants can request an inspection, however, and the law is clear that it is not exhaustive, so you're not necessarily off the hook.

Here's the fine print: http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/cmr/cmrtext/105CMR410.pdf

Just remember that when in doubt, landlord-tenant law tends to be tilted towards helping the tenant. You can fight, but it's probably not worth the effort.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I don't believe any "cleaning" would work, since to clean a skunk smell you have to eradicate the stench at it's source, i.e. crawl under the house to find where the skunk actually sprayed it's smelly liquid, and douse it there. About all a "cleaning service" would do is likely what they'd do in the case of a smokey fire: wash all walls and all furniture and all clothing, open the windows, and let it air out. Nature's Miracle skunk odor remover would likely be what they'd use, and it would cost a lot. By the time they were done "cleaning" the airing out of the building would likely have cleared out the scent anyhow. Having professional cleaners in would likely disrupt the family more than a simple airing out of stuff.

Suggestion: get a gallon of the skunk odor remover, dump it into a spray bottle, and spray everywhere near where it's worst. Open all windows and set some fans blowing towards the windows/doors. Hope for a couple of mild, clear days.

One note: the house is not "unlivable". The human nose will become accostomed to the scent, and while other people may smell it, the people involved won't be able to. So they'll be able to sleep, etc. Just shower a few times and launder and ask someone who doesn't live there to sniff you to ensure you're not accidentally too offensive. Also, about a week after the place is aired out, ask a friend with a good nose to give your house and belongings a "sniff test" to ensure that nothing remains.

Good work places will understand your issue, and besides some goodnatured jibes, it's no real disaster.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24505

edit: from my reading of emannths's link, the owner is responsible to keep the premises clear of skunks. This has been done, according to your original post. I didn't see anything in that document that says the owner is responsible for cleaning up the scent and/or "damage".

[samcoren.livejournal.com]

Do you happen to live in Spring Hill out of curiosity? Back when my boyfriend lived there I feel like every other week I could smell skunk somewhere on Summer St...

[inkarn8.livejournal.com]

Yes,I wonder why there are so many in that area.. A local food source or what?..

[annelise (from livejournal.com)]

I have some experience in this area of the law, but I'm not your lawyer and I'm just speaking generally.

1] You're not responsible for loss of wages (the only exception would be if your tenants brought a civil suit and it was found that your negligence was responsible for the skunk getting in AND that the skunk getting in caused the tenants to lose their wages).

2] If the skunk sprayed under the house or under the porch, my inclination is to say that responsibility for cleanup may fall on you because those are common areas and within the footprint of the house, but another lawyer might think differently.

3] An odor can in fact be a breach of the implied warranty of habitability, which means that the landlord is responsible for getting rid of it and can be held liable if she doesn't, but it isn't necessarily a breach: It would depend whether the source of the odor was something under your control, whether you tried to get rid of the odor, and how long it lasted (and probably how bad it was). Tenants can withhold rent on the basis of breaches of the implied warranty of habitability, but I think something that lasts just a few days wouldn't count as a breach, especially if you took some steps to remedy it.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

I think the city should start enforcing garbage lid ordinances as much as parking ordinances. Prevent rats, skunks, etc while making some revenue for the city.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

In my experience the city is quite diligent about writing tickets for uncovered garbage cans, trash not in cans, and trash placed out on the curb too early.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

I've observed houses in my neighborhood that for years have had lids that don't fit or are non existent, holes in the cans etc. It is plain as day and the rodents feast on their cans' contents. Maybe they are enforcing only certain neighborhoods.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Well, note that I said "writing tickets," which one could argue is not really the same as enforcing. In theory, the property owner might be just paying the tickets rather than solve the problem. Or ignoring the tickets and letting them pile up (a lot more likely). If a property owner ignores enough such tickets, a lien can be placed on the home...but that might not have any effect either, if the owner isn't trying to sell.

In other words, it seems to me that the city is ill-equipped to deal with situations of absentee owners who ignore these chronic problems (which is probably the case with the houses you're noticing). The system works pretty well with the average lazy but basically decent homeowner, who will pay the ticket and then at least try to fix the problem. But with a deadbeat owner, when it gets to the point where writing more and more tickets isn't changing anything, then what? The city seems not to have an answer to that one.

[paul davidson (from livejournal.com)]

Just in case anyone needs to fill out a Lease Agreement form, I found a blank templates from this site PDFfiller. This site also has some tutorials on how to fill it out and a few related Real Estate forms that you might find useful. Here is a link to Residential Lease Agreement form that I was able to use http://goo.gl/dVLvEM.