An Auckland landlord says the rubbish left behind by her former tenant filled five large skip bins.
An Auckland landlord says the rubbish left behind by her former tenant filled five large skip bins.
An Auckland landlord facing a $42,000 bill to repair a damaged rental property has questioned whether it's worth being a property investor under new tenant-friendly Government laws.
She posted about her experiences on social media over the weekend, saying she recently gave her long-time tenant 90 days notice to vacate the property after he got behind with his rent.
But when he finally moved out, the landlord discovered he had left behind walls covered in graffiti and mountains of trash.
She was forced to hire five skip bins to take away the trash and told it would cost $42,000 to fix up her home.
It has led her to question whether renting out properties was worth the time and effort.
"With the changes Mr Twyford proposes, it makes this seasoned investor question if it's still worth it," she wrote on the Property Investors Chat Group NZ.
It comes after the Herald last week revealed how Auckland landlord Nina Zhao found illegal tenants subletting in her $2 million St Helier's home, only to be told it could take weeks to evict them.
Zhao, 34, said she had originally rented her four-bedroom home as a rental to one tenant, who then sublet it to four other families who left it in a state "like a rubbish dump".
The landlord facing the $42,000 repair bill for the recently damaged property told media outlet Stuff that her former tenant had run a business from the property, which included a 4300 square metre shed and attached flat.
He had been renting the property since 2007 and was paying $540 a week.
However, began "to go a little strange" after his relationship broke up and got behind on the rent.
It was only after he moved out at the end of August that the woman noticed the huge mess, which filled five large skip bins.
The property had also been under the supervision of a "well known real estate company", which did three-monthly inspections.
The former tenant started "to go a little strange" after their relationship ended.
The landlord was also told insurance would not cover the repair costs.
She said she had been a landlord for 30 years but questioned whether investors had enough protections from bad tenants.
"I like to think I'm a good landlord," she told Stuff.
"[But] what sort of person does that?
"They have no right to go and deface a person's property like that and expect me to pick up the pieces."
She said she would go to the Tenancy Tribunal but didn't expect to be able to recover any costs from the tenant.
Old tyres left on the property.
"My thought is that as a group we collectively need better protection for when things do go wrong and when tenants go rogue.
"The government of the day is proposing reforms but I don't see anything in there that helps me, the property owner.
"The person who worked hard and saved to buy the property and carries full financial responsibility for it."
She said the worst tenants should be named on a register so they don't move onto new properties without future landlords knowing about their history.
"I'm not sure about the property manager's role here but where there is negligence for a service offered and charged for, there may need to be some recourse there also," she said.
