Odor complaints are among the most common quality-of-life issues in multifamily buildings.
Property Management · June 22, 2026 · 4 min read
How to Reduce Resident Complaints About Building Odors
Odor complaints are one of the most common quality-of-life issues in multifamily buildings. Here's how to get ahead of them.
By Luften Team
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Field Tips
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High-Rise Building Odors
High-rises stack odor problems literally — a lobby smells like the basement, and the penthouse smells like the chute.
- 1The stack effect drives odor upward in winter and downward in summer — plan HVAC dispensing to counter.
- 2Seal every chase penetration; unsealed penetrations are highways for kitchen and bathroom odors.
- 3Balance HVAC yearly — an unbalanced system creates pressure differentials that pull odor between units.
- 4Address the chute, waste room, and ejector pit as a single program, not three vendors.
- 5Add corridor air-freshening tuned to the building's signature scent, not off-the-shelf fragrance.
- 6Investigate 'ghost odors' with a smoke pencil; they usually trace to a specific chase or shaft.
- 7In mixed-use towers, isolate restaurant exhaust — commercial kitchen odor migrates through shared HVAC.
- 8Cap unused floor drains with trap seal devices; abandoned units are silent odor sources.
Restroom Odor Control & Air Fresheners
Restroom smell is 80% urine salts on grout and 20% ventilation. Commercial air fresheners come last.
- 1Deep-clean grout monthly with an enzymatic cleaner — bleach won't touch urine salts.
- 2Verify exhaust fans move air at least 2 CFM per sq ft; test with a piece of tissue.
- 3Install continuous passive dispensers on the return-air path, not above the urinal.
- 4Replace urinal traps every 12 months in high-traffic restrooms; sediment holds odor.
- 5Waterless urinals need cartridge changes on schedule — a skipped change smells worse than a regular urinal.
- 6Check floor drains weekly for dry traps; a dry trap in a restroom is instant sewer odor.
- 7Use a light, clean fragrance — heavy floral in a restroom reads as a cover-up.
- 8Post cleaning logs on the door; guests smell what they see logged, not the reverse.
Browse the full library at Luften's 400+ odor control tip guides.
#resident complaints#multifamily odor control#building smell
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