A landlord in Stoke has been shocked to find that a property he was renting out has been trashed and the tenants have disappeared.
Reg Martin, 74, went round to his terraced house with an engineer to run a routine inspection on the property's boiler, only to discover that the home was covered in rubbish and dog faeces. The tenants, a couple in their 30s with a young child, could not be found - when the landlord called them, the woman told him to keep the deposit and then hung up.
Mr Martin expects it will cost him £2,000 to repair the damage, while the deposit was just £400. Of course, property owners can protect themselves against such outgoings by investing in landlords insurance, which can include cover for accidental and malicious damage by tenants.
As well as being covered in rubbish, damage was also done by the dog chewing on the doors and window frames. The curtains and carpets were also found to be in an awful state.
Mr Martin has produced a video of the state he found the property in and posted it on YouTube as a warning for other landlords. The pensioner has also explained that the woman originally said she needed somewhere to live by herself after her previous landlord sold the home she was living in and kicking her out.
It was later revealed that the woman's boyfriend and dog had also moved in with her, and while the house was often a mess when the property owner went round, it was never too bad and they always paid their rent on time.
He then described the day earlier this month that he entered the property to check the boiler: "I was absolutely stunned when I saw the mess. I opened the front door and the horrible smell just hit me. It turned my guts.
"It was just a disgusting sight. I've been renting properties for more than ten years and never experienced anything like this."
Mr Martin said he is considering taking legal action against the couple.
