Tiny homes are becoming more and more popular. But in Portland, OR, one tiny home has become a big headache for a retired couple, significantly tarnishing their golden years.
Residents John Benjamin, 77, and Trudy Benjamin, 67, are now suing their next-door neighbor Karen Ward for $200,000 over a foul odor they claim is coming from Ward’s tiny home.
According to the complaint obtained by Realtor.com®, the Benjamins have to wear gas masks when they travel from their driveway to their home to protect themselves from the stench.
In fact, John once reportedly became so overwhelmed by the noxious vapors that he collapsed and chipped a bone on his kneecap, which required surgery.
“All the Benjamins want is to be able to use and enjoy their home of 40 years, without having to wear industrial-grade respirators whenever they go outside,” the Benjamins’ attorney, Karl G. Anuta, tells Realtor.com. “They would also like to be able to tell their medical providers—who have been telling them that they need to stay somewhere else until this problem is resolved—that the problem has been resolved.”
When it all started
Last year, Ward moved a tiny home on a wheeled trailer onto the back of her property, next to a fence that separates her property from the Benjamins’, Anuta says in the complaint. Ward then “rented, leased, or allowed someone to live in the tiny home” on her property.
The tiny home contained a chemical toilet—and, according to the complaint, Ward did not connect the tiny home’s chemical toilet system to the city sewer system.
“As the defendant’s tenant in the tiny home continued to live there, the smell of the chemical toilet became stronger and stronger,” the lawsuit states. “The smell would at times blanket [the] plaintiff’s property. The smell would at times seep into the plaintiff’s home, unless the plaintiffs kept the windows and doors completely shut.”
The alleged damages
The Benjamins contend in the lawsuit that “the odors, vapors, and fumes coming from the tiny home chemical toilet” at times “create nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, and severe headaches” as well as “immediate breathing or respiratory problems” for themselves and their visitors.
The Benjamins repeatedly complained to Ward about the smell and fumes from the toilet, according to the suit, and requested that Ward remove the tiny home from her property or properly connect it to the city sewer system.
The city of Portland’s website states that RVs and tiny homes on wheels that contain “internal plumbing” must be connected to potable water and sanitary sewer services.
“Internal plumbing is as the term implies: plumbing fixtures—toilets, sinks, showers—inside the tiny home on wheels,” Ken Ray, public information officer for the Portland Permitting and Development department, tells Realtor.com.
The city of Portland sent Ward notice on March 20 that she was violating city code, according to OregonLive, stating that she had 30 to 60 days to start correcting violations that included failing to provide sewer and water connections for the tiny home—and that failure to comply would result in fines starting at $375 per month.
Ward told OregonLive in an email that the RV toilet and tank were both removed from the tiny home in late April and any spill residue would be cleaned with soil removed.
But Anuta tells Realtor.com, “Sadly, a recent removal of the chemical toilet in the tiny home has not resolved the problem.”
The Benjamins have been unable to enjoy the use of their backyard or tend to any garden or landscaping projects, according to the lawsuit. Anuta says they can’t even dry their clothes on the clothesline in their backyard, as they normally would, because clothing that has been dried there continues to smell like the chemical toilet fumes for long afterwards.
Anuta says the Benjamins have incurred roughly $35,000 in medical expenses to date. John is currently in physical therapy for his knee and has suffered “extreme, life-threatening spikes in his blood pressure,” according to Anuta. John and Trudy have both suffered “significant emotional distress and frustration” due to the situation, as well.
