An elderly couple in Portland, Oregon, say they have been forced to wear gas masks simply to go outside their longtime family home, claiming a neighbour’s tiny house and chemical toilet created an unbearable odour.
John and Trudy Benjamin have filed a lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against their neighbour, Karen Ward, seeking $352,000 in damages.
According to the claim, Ms Ward moved a tiny home on wheels onto her property and allowed a tenant to live there without linking its chemical toilet to the city sewer system. The Benjamins allege the smell steadily worsened until it drifted into their home, leaving them no choice but to keep all doors and windows closed.
The complaint says the fumes had serious health effects on 77-year-old John Benjamin, including dizziness, nausea and severe breathing difficulties. He is also said to have suffered a fall caused by the fumes, badly injuring his knee and requiring surgery. Court documents further allege “extreme, life-threatening spikes in his blood pressure,” which the couple say were caused by the toxic conditions.
They say they have already incurred about $49,000 in medical expenses and spent another $210 on air filters and respirators in an effort to avoid “falling unconscious” on their own property. Their medical provider has reportedly advised them to leave their home until the odour problem is fixed.
“(They) just want to be able to use the property they have lived at for 40 years, without being sickened or having to wear industrial-grade respirators when they are outside,” their solicitor, Karl Anuta, told the Daily Mail.
Mr Anuta has also raised concerns that bleach may have been used in an attempt to cover the smell. He said combining chlorine bleach with ammonia in urine can produce chloramine gas, which health authorities warn may cause serious injury.
Ms Ward told OregonLive that the “RV toilet” and “portable septic tank” were removed in late April and that contaminated soil would be dealt with. However, the lawsuit alleges the tiny home is still occupied and the odour remains.
As well as seeking damages, the Benjamins want a court order preventing use of the tiny home until it is connected to the city sewer, or requiring that it be removed within 10 days and the site fully cleaned up.
The case may be unfolding in the United States, but Australians have also faced major odour complaints in residential areas. In Perth last year, neighbours said they were unable to go outside because of a foul smell coming from a backyard turned into a private rubbish dump, with waste spreading into the surrounding suburb.
In Melbourne in 2022, residents in the city’s southeast complained of a powerful smell near a local tip, with one person joking that it was so bad “Shrek would love it.” Many worried the stench would hurt their chances of selling their homes. The rotten egg smell was linked to hydrogen sulphide from uncovered demolition waste at the SBI Inert Landfill site.
In Kanmantoo, South Australia, residents have also made repeated complaints, with the Environmental Protection Agency receiving 366 reports about “composting odours” across 2024 and 2025.
