Tenant trashes Whangārei house leaves family with massive damage and clean-up bill

Pehrangi Wichman, left, and her daughter Barbara Wichman outside their family home on Rewa Rewa Rd with a huge amount of trash they have to remove thanks to a "tenant from hell". Photo / John Stone

Out of the goodness of their hearts the Wichman family let a man who needed a home rent their Whangārei house.

Four and a half years after he moved in, and following a drawn out legal battle to get the man evicted, they are faced with a damages and clean-up bill that will run in to the tens of thousands of dollars.

The three-bedroom house on Rewa Rewa Rd was the place where childhood memories were made. Fruit trees grew on the well-tended back lawn and the river along the side of the property was the pathway to fishing on the Whangārei Harbour.

But now Barbara Wichman and her mother Pehrangi, who grew up in the home her father built, are heartbroken and in tears after the house was trashed and the man responsible was unlikely to pay the clean-up bill.

The family want to warn others despite having a tenancy agreement in place it was sometimes difficult to remove a tenant who could destroying your most expensive asset.

Barbara Wichman, left, and her mother Pehrangi Wichman are left with the mammoth task of cleaning up what was left behind by a tenant they had evicted. Photo / John Stone

They have possession of the property but will have to go back to court to see if they can recoup the cost of clean-up.

The back lawn looks like the aftermath of an explosion with a large scorched area from repeated fires, piles of rotting decking timber, a crashed car, broken boat, chairs, a warped wooden set of drawers and more.

Out the front the family have started to pile up the evicted man's possessions, as he has a 35-day window to come and collect his property before they can begin the mammoth task of cleaning up.

There are car tyres, a barbecue, pots and pans, gumboots, clothes, mattresses, pot plants, a fridge, a stereo system and a golf bag in the huge pile amassed at the front gate.

Inside there are holes in the walls, the ceiling has been torn down and the list goes on.

Barbara Wichman said the man, in his 40s, signed a tenancy agreement and moved in in 2015 but they noticed the property deteriorating and 12 months ago began legal action to have him evicted.

Among other things the man was keeping his seven dogs and a large billy goat in the house, which was not part of the agreement.

Piles of rubbish amassed on the back lawn of a Whangārei home that was rented out. Photo / John Stone

Barbara Wichman said they knew the man's family, as they lived near their Devonport home, and they were well respected.

When he approached them to rent the Whangārei home they said he presented well and they agreed to let him live there as they knew he was in need of a home.

"We had problems with people breaking in to the house, after my grandfather died, so we thought if we had someone living in there it would be some form of security, " Barbara said.

"He needed help and we wanted to give him a hand-up so we paid the water and power bills so it would make it easier for him."

Friends raised the alarm with the family when they drove passed and noticed a collection of items starting to build and the lawns growing out of control.

A pile of old decking timber left to rot on the back lawn. Photo / John Stone

The family believed the man collected items from the nearby refuge centre and tried to then sell them. However, the unsold items accumulated until the house and grounds resembled a dump.

"After coming up and driving by we cried for days and were really upset," Barbara said.

A year ago they started a legal battle to get the house back.

On February 28, following a Tenancy Tribunal hearing at Whangārei District Court, the Wichmans were granted possession of the house again. The Tenancy Tribunal said the landlords decided to terminate the tenancy after discovering the mess at the property.

The tenant submitted his tenancy was ended because of his complaints about maintenance which he had been raising since 2012 - even though he only moved in September 2015.

While the house is insured, the insurance does not over deliberate damage. Barbara said they would head back to the Tenancy Tribunal court to try and recoup the cost of repairing damages and clean-up but they were not hopeful.

"I suppose you can't get blood out of a stone," Pehrangi Wichman said.

"Out of the goodness of our hearts we tried to do the right thing and help this man and now we are left with a huge mess and a big bill."

Attempts by the Northern Advocate to contact the tenant were unsuccessful.