Landlords fill 240 BIN BAGS with trash after winning 18-month battle to evict nightmare tenant who wrecked EVERY room and only paid ONE month’s rent
- Jane Shoulders, 60, and her husband Vic, 63, rented out house in January 2020
- But couple claim they eventually kicked out tenant who moved into the property
- They say it was left littered with rubbish bags, toys and even two dead hamsters
- Landlords from Swindon now faced with thousands of pounds worth of damage
Two landlords have filled 240 bin bags with trash after winning an 18-month battle to evict a tenant who wrecked every room and only paid one month’s rent.
Jane Shoulders, 60, and her 63-year-old husband Vic decided to rent out their three-bedroom house for £750 per month after relocating to be near a sick relative.
But the couple from Swindon, Wiltshire, claim they eventually kicked out the unnamed young mother who moved into the property in January last year.
The landlords shared a video showing the squalid state of their once ‘show home’, saying they are now faced with thousands of pounds worth of damage.
They added it was left littered with hundreds of bags of rubbish, a collapsed ceiling, broken children’s toys, hundreds of take away boxes and even two dead hamsters.
The kitchen, pictured above, where the ceiling collapsed after a leak from the bathroom. Jane Shoulders, 60, and her 63-year-old husband Vic shared a video showing the squalid home
The living room, which can be seen littered with cardboard boxes, clothing and takeaway boxes. The couple say they are now faced with thousands of pounds worth of damage
With government rules making it illegal to evict during lockdown, the couple say the tenant continued to live rent free for 18 months.
Jane said: ‘It was such a lovely home but she has completely ruined it.
‘Despite only paying rent once at the start of last year, we had to wait three months to start a lawful eviction.
‘Then we went into lockdown and there was nothing we could do.’
Despite getting a reference for the tenant, the couple have lost over £13,000 in rent – but never expected to find every room destroyed beyond repair.
Jane added: ‘The tenant changed the locks before fleeing so we had to pay to enter and when we finally got back in, we were in disbelief.
‘Every room was trashed. I have never seen so much rubbish.
‘She refused to pay her rent but the rooms were full of take away boxes scattered everywhere. There were over 100 pizza boxes, plus McDonalds bags and other fast food wrappers and boxes.’
The landlords couldn’t see the carpet because of rubbish, mouldy food, dirty clothes and human faeces mixed with children’s toys and were horrified to find ivy growing through the windows.
Jane said: ‘I am lost for words. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and the smell made me heave.
Piles of rubbish pictured outside the home after the couple eventually gained access. They filled 240 bin bags with trash following an 18-month battle to evict the tenant
The three-bedroom detached property in Swindon, Wiltshire. The landlords rented out the house for £750 per month after relocating to be near a sick relative
With government rules making it illegal to evict during lockdown, the couple (pictured above) say the tenant continued to live rent free for 18 months
‘How could anyone do this to someone else’s property? How could anyone live like this? It’s just heart breaking especially to see that a child has lived in this mess.
‘I couldn’t stand the smell for more than a few minutes at a time.’
Friends and family of the couple have helped with the huge clean-up operation which has so far seen more than 300 rubbish bags filled.
Jane said: ‘Nothing in the house can be salvaged, it needs to be completely stripped and renovated.
‘The carpets are also completely ruined, the kitchen will need to be stripped out.’
She added: ‘I’ve used three bottles of acid on the toilet so far and it’s still not clean.
On top of countless hours of work, the couple estimate that a professional clean will cost them £1,000.
Jane said: ‘We’ve had to pay for the rubbish to be disposed of, we have filled hundreds of rubbish bags.
‘The garage was full of used nappies, we filled around 10 bin liners with dirty nappies.
‘We had to buy masks and biohazard suits as we had no clue what we would find. We also bought flytraps, shovels and cleaning supplies.’
The state of the toilet (pictured left) and the collapsed kitchen ceiling (right). On top of countless hours of work, the couple estimate that a professional clean will cost them £1,000
The outdoor area and bin bags filled with rubbish by the landlords. Friends and family of the couple have also helped with the huge clean-up operation
Internal damage to the kitchen and bathroom will rack up another bill – and the couple believe it was deliberate damage.
Jane added: ‘I think the water leak from the bathroom, which caused the kitchen ceiling to collapse was done deliberately.
‘When we cleared out piles of rubbish from the bathroom we found a strange hole cut out in the skirting board, this let the water run straight down into the kitchen.
‘It looks like she filled the bath and then let it out on purpose.’
She continued: ‘This whole experience has put us off renting again.
‘We don’t want her to get away with doing this, but we currently don’t know where she is and we are looking at going down the legal route but we don’t how much more will that cost.
‘We will have to take our next steps, one step at a time.’
Vic said: ‘We will now have to pay thousands to have the kitchen gutted and refitted.’
The couple’s niece Molly Curtis, has since set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to cover the clean up costs.
Jane added: ‘We are absolutely devastated. We have lost so much rent, and then to finally get our home back and to be faced with his, is absolutely devastating to us.’
Source: Read Full Article
