“The smell is such that it makes you want to vomit.” In Salaspils, a man turned an apartment building into a ‘homeless den’ 0 10

Residents of the building on Skolas Street told “Degpunktā” (TV3) that in recent years, to reach their apartments, they have to hold their breath while going up the stairs. The reason is an apartment on the second floor, from which an unbearable stench emanates, and recently, it turned out, they have to worry not only about their sense of smell but also for their lives, as the occupant of this foul-smelling dwelling started a fire. Therefore, “Degpunktā” went to find out how bad the situation really is.

The answer became obvious as soon as one entered the entrance — the smell was, to put it mildly, strong, and the natural reaction was to cover one’s face. The source of the smell is the apartment with white doors leaning to the side, from which the stench spreads.

According to neighbors, the apartment used to belong to an elderly woman who left it to her grandson after her death. However, the grandson decided to neglect the property — he invited drinking buddies, consumed alcohol, and disturbed the neighbors.

"Since autumn, when it got colder, he came, broke down the door, and has been living there. Various homeless people come there, drinking parties, gatherings, and fights happen. The stench was very strong. Now we constantly ventilate. Last week he started a fire. A neighbor went upstairs, and smoke began to fill the area. My mom came… The flames were huge! (…) He was throwing burning books out of the window. Everything was filled with smoke, nothing was visible. Then the firefighters arrived, and he ran away," said a neighbor.

At that time, no one was injured; however, neighbors call the fire the culmination of this entire situation, and their patience is running out. “Degpunktā” also met the occupant of the foul-smelling apartment — he knows nothing about the fire and scandals and, apparently, does not smell anything either.

"Grandma died and left the apartment. (DP: Why are there no doors? Why are residents complaining? What about the fire recently?) There was no fire. I don’t know. (DP: Has the police come?) No. (DP: What is happening there?) Nothing. (DP: It smells — don’t you feel it?) No."

As residents recount, the man even broke the window handles in the entrance so they could not be opened for ventilation. Moreover, the smell that the film crew sensed that day, compared to the usual one, was, according to neighbors, "like a rose garden."

"It doesn’t smell now. You can’t imagine — it doesn’t smell now! It smells. The situation there is such that you enter — and immediately want to vomit. You don’t know how to get in. But the fact is that a real homeless den has formed here," said a neighbor.

The police have been called multiple times, conversations have been held with the occupant, but this has not helped. Residents have written numerous complaints and appeals to the local government, but it also cannot influence the situation.

According to the management company, the apartment currently has the status of being ownerless and has accumulated a debt of over 5000 euros for utilities. Water has already been disconnected, but this has not helped.

A representative of the LLC “Tilderu nami”:

"The owners of the apartment have died, and it is currently unknown whether the inheritance is being processed. In any case, there are outsiders in there. Unfortunately, as the manager, we cannot evict anyone by force."

To understand what to do, neighbors have to deal with complex legal issues. Although the man claims that the apartment was inherited from his grandmother, by law he has no right to be there since he has not entered into the inheritance. This means that the property is effectively ownerless, and the situation can only be resolved after the opening of the inheritance case.

Jury lawyer Jānis Berovskis explains:

"Any interested party — not only a possible heir but also creditors or the local government — has the right to contact a notary to request the opening of an inheritance case, within which the notary is obliged to ensure the preservation of the property."

If the notary determines that the apartment is damaged and contains outsiders, he has the right to call the police, evict the occupant, and seal the premises. If the man does not assert his rights to the inheritance, the apartment will pass into state ownership. If he does become the legal owner, the manager will be able to recover the debts, and co-owners can go to court.

At “Tilderu nami,” they stated that they are considering all possible options, but for now, in addition to water, electricity has also been disconnected, hoping to gradually achieve the eviction of the man. If this succeeds, the residents of the building will finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief, both literally and figuratively.