Landlord finds squalid home, tenant Jessica Michelle Duffy ordered to pay $4822

The Tenancy Tribunal accepted the landlord's description that the tenant was living in squalid conditions. Stock image / File

A landlord’s final inspection of a house revealed some surprises, including baseball bats and chains under the beds and couches, modifications to the garage, and a flatmate still living there with his dog.

The landlord, whose name is suppressed, provided the Tenancy Tribunal with photographs of the house to show tenant Jessica Michelle Duffy made no attempt to clean it before she left in February this year.

The landlord described the state of the house as squalid, which the tribunal accepted.

“Cupboards were still full, dishes were piled in the sink and bench, the bathroom still had personal items, furniture was still in all the rooms, and the woodshed was piled with a tremendous amount of rubbish.

“Baseball bats and chairs were found under the beds and couches. The wood burner was loaded with the remnants of burnt aluminium cans and glass bottles.

“The bathroom required an immediate application of Exit Mould and personal items removed with gloves before being considered hygienic enough for occupancy and professional cleaners.”

During an inspection on January 28, the landlord also discovered a missing downpipe and a broken window in one of the rooms.

Despite being asked in writing to make repairs before mid-February, Duffy made no effort to do so, the decision said.

In another room, four large rectangles had been cut into the carpet, destroying it. The carpet also had suspected paint stains that couldn’t be removed.

As well as the damaged carpets, there was a strong smell of cigarettes, ash and dog throughout all the rooms. As a result, the landlord decided to replace the carpet and sought a contribution from the tenant.

The garage had been heavily carpeted and the walls and windows boarded up and lined with underlay and black material.

While the flatmate removed the wall lining, an extensive quantity of boards, material, carpet, underlay, rubbish and personal effects remained in the garage. The garage door was also broken and had to be replaced, because it had been levered open.

The recently released decision also noted that because the keys weren’t returned, the locks had to be replaced and the lawn needed to be mowed.

In its decision, the tribunal accepted the landlord’s claim that the clean-up required two skip bins and “many hours of stressful and disgusting work” shifting the tenant’s rubbish and possessions, although the decision notes the flatmate also helped.

Taking into account betterment and depreciation, the tribunal ordered that Duffy, who didn’t attend the hearing, pay $4822 to the landlord for the costs they’d incurred.

That included rent arrears, rubbish removal, replacing carpet, curtains, and repairs to the window and downpipe, garage door, and replacement locks.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.