Residents of the newly built Thors Have housing development in Bolbro, Odense, say sewage repeatedly backs up through their shower drains. Landlord Heimstaden blames tenants for flushing items that clog the building’s pump well.
Tenants in several low-lying apartments in Thors Have have experienced repeated sewer blockages, Avisen Danmark reports. Wastewater containing fecal matter has come up from the drains in their shower cabins, according to the reporting, which was also published by the regional daily Fyens Stiftstidende.
Helena Kunddahl moved into the complex with her partner, Martin Andersen, in December 2024. The couple had their first child in April 2025, and the sewer problems began about three months later. Kunddahl has registered 24 incidents since July 2025 in which wastewater rose from the shower drain.
Neighbor Irene Andersen describes the same problem in her apartment. She says she has had frequent headaches and stomach trouble since the blockages started, and that the smell makes her unwell. She already struggles with her health, per Avisen Danmark.
The affected apartments sit low in the terrain at Thors Have, and some residents suspect the sewer and drains may be incorrectly dimensioned. No technical documentation supporting that is cited in the article. During several clean-ups, wet wipes, a toothbrush and a pair of worn men’s underpants were found in the sewer.
Øens Ejendomsadministration, which manages Thors Have for owner Heimstaden, has repeatedly concluded that tenants are to blame. In an email dated August 11, 2026, the administrator wrote that the sewer issue had been resolved and that blockages occur when residents flush items other than toilet paper. The email described this as a breach of the lease and said costs could be passed on to the building’s tenants through tax and fee notices.
The tenants reject that account. Kunddahl and Andersen say Heimstaden and the housing agencies involved should investigate the system and inform temporary renters about what must not be flushed. Many apartments have been let temporarily to foreign workers, and residents themselves put up notices in Danish, English and Polish.
In a written response to Fyens Stiftstidende, Heimstaden confirms massive problems with a clogged pump well at the site. The company states there have been 21 call-outs to the well in 2026, and that it has been cleaned and emptied eight times. Heimstaden says it has sent out both a sewer firm and the contractor that installed the pump wells on several occasions.
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According to Heimstaden, there is no indication that the problem stems from an error in the dimensioning of the sewer or pump well. The company says cleanings repeatedly found tampons, sanitary pads, wet wipes and other objects in the pump’s grinder, and that this is not seen at its other pump wells. Where a blockage can be traced to misuse, Heimstaden says a concrete assessment may place the cost on the responsible party, one of several housing companies operating rental blocks in the area.
