A novice landlord said she fought a legal battle to regain possession of her rental property but was horrified to find it trashed and covered in faeces.
Angela Leeming, 62, says she spent more than £10,000 in court costs, damage repairs and lost rent.
Leeming said her tenant left dog and cat faeces on carpets and furniture, as well as mounds of litter piled high in every room of the terrace house.
Leeming also found mouldy food, old clothes and alcohol bottles everywhere and the oven was also missing a door.
The tenant, a single mother-of-three in her 30s, stopped paying rent in March last year.
As reported by the Mirror, Leeming said,
“My husband has had difficulty sleeping and it has put a lot of pressure on him as well as myself.
“The smell in the house is absolutely horrendous.
“It is awful – the tenant cannot tell me they did not smell it.
“There was animal faeces everywhere – it was on the carpet and draws.
“It had even got into the underlay – I can’t see why people would leave it in such a terrible state.
“This is a really big issue because the landlords have no rights but the tenants do.
“We were tempted to sell the house off and move on but as my husband said it would mean the previous tenant had won.
“We will carry on going and hopefully the home will be taken on by loving tenants.
“I feel like we are the victims.
“Despite winning a court order we’ve had to pay all the costs and fees because the tenants could not afford it because of their financial situation.
“Landlords have no rights.
“There are lots of schemes landlords have to adhere to and follow to protect tenants, yet there’s nothing for us.
“I know not all landlords are good but my husband and I are caring genuine people.
“It’s just not fair. My husband and I left the house in a condition we were happy to live in – it was immaculate.
“On three occasions she was given 14 days notice to leave and she ignored it.
“To me tenants should just get one warning as all the legal work can become expensive.”
