I’ve been dealing with a persistent odor issue in my apartment for over two weeks. The smell is intermittent but at times becomes very strong and pungent (similar to a trash room), causing headaches and nausea. Maintenance has visited multiple times and tried several fixes (filters, trash chute checks, roof vent adjustments, door seals), but the issue keeps recurring. Management staff have personally acknowledged an odor during inspections, though it’s sometimes milder when they’re present. The situation escalated to the point that I had to temporarily leave the unit and stay in a hotel for health reasons, and I also visited urgent care. I believe the issue is with their hvac system as my apartment is located between two trash rooms and one of the maintenance person told me it shared same pipes and exhaust of trash room. I requested lease termination without penalty. Management is offering an internal unit transfer or a standard early termination with a large fee (2 months rent) and 30 days notice. I’m not considering a transfer because maintenance person told in their another unit there was same issue. Everything is documented in the email, also moving units is mentally exhausting, costly, and doesn’t address the risk that the same issue could exist elsewhere in the complex. I believe this in uninhabitable apartment. Looking for opinions or similar experiences, especially under California tenant laws. If you have experience with San Jose city of code enforcement please share.

Location :

Bay Area