Sewage Nightmare: Tenant's Battle with Unbearable Living Conditions

Petra Marsán, 25, and her partner were shocked when they awoke one spring morning to find their bathroom flooded with liquid sewage.

"It was floating around, and I just screamed," says Petra Marsán.

The move from Skellefteå to the village of Limmared outside Värnamo did not go as planned for Petra Marsán, 25, and her boyfriend. The apartment was extremely dirty, full of water damage, and a few days after moving in, it began to smell.

"It stank and smelled really sour throughout the apartment, especially in the kitchen and bathroom," says Petra.

Soon, the bathroom and toilet drains began to overflow when they washed dishes in the kitchen. Petra suspected something was wrong.

"I wrote to the landlord that we had floods and the apartment smelled like sewage. I said I needed a plumber soon, like now, before it literally hits the fan."

But the landlord did nothing, says Petra. For weeks, she and her boyfriend lived with the smell of sewage. One Saturday in early April, the situation escalated, as first reported by Hem & Hyra.

Sewage Everywhere

Petra was hungover after a company party the night before and just wanted to take a shower. When she opened the bathroom door, she was met with "80 liters of diarrhea."

"It was floating around, and I just screamed. I thought, now it's happening, this damn mess."

The bathroom and toilet were filled with feces, and sewage water was bubbling up from the parquet in the hallway. Petra demanded that the landlord immediately arrange for sewage suction. But it would be too expensive to bring someone in on a Saturday, said the landlord, so Petra and her boyfriend had to wait until Monday, she explains.

"We couldn't be there. We couldn't use the toilets, not the shower, we couldn't wash dishes, couldn't get water. Everything smelled like sewage! And it wasn't even our sewage; it came from the neighbor."

Every time the neighbor used the toilet, the waste ended up in Petra's apartment. She had to ask him to do his business elsewhere.

Ant Colony Moved In

After the apartment was cleaned, the smell lingered for several weeks, according to Petra. Meanwhile, an ant colony moved into the apartment. She and her boyfriend tried to stay away as much as possible. They also demanded compensation from the landlord.

"I begged and pleaded for him to properly sanitize the apartment, but nothing happened. And I begged and pleaded for compensation, but nothing happened."

A few weeks later, the couple contacted the municipal environmental department and the Tenants' Association for help. The environmental department has confirmed the water damage and stench and will now investigate what happened.

Petra is very upset about the handling of the situation and will pursue her compensation claims in court through the tenants' association, she says.

At the same time, she knows she is not alone.

"I posted a video of the sewage on TikTok that got 250,000 views and connected with other tenants. Many have experienced terribly disgusting things."

Petra is now looking for another apartment. She believes the sewage chaos will return.

"Now the shower is starting to clog again, and it's starting to smell in the kitchen, so it's only a matter of time before we have diarrhea all over the apartment again," says Petra.

Expressen has sought the landlord for comment.