Tenant ordered to pay $6,000 after leaving Foxton rental home in nightmare state

The tenant lived at this property in Foxton when the damages occurred. Photo / Google

A woman who left her rental home with holes around the house, windows smashed and a pantry door ripped off has been ordered to pay up.

Francisca Joan Kaweka-Webster was the tenant who lived at a property on Avenue Road, in Foxton, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.

A Tenancy Tribunal was told that last September, when her tenancy ended, the landlord - David Spencer Russ and the Eschati Trust - arrived to find the house and garage badly damaged.

Up to 25 holes were identified around the house - some of them so big that they went through to the next room.

Two windows and a ranch slider door had been smashed, the curtains had been cut and there was fire damage on a bedroom wall.

Tribunal documents also show there was damage to ceiling cavities, where they had apparently been walked on and cupboard doors damaged.

In the kitchen, the pantry door had been ripped clean off and doors on a storage unit inside the garage had been removed and burnt.

"The damage is more than fair wear and tear and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

"I am satisfied from viewing the extensive evidence that the damage was more likely than not caused intentionally and the tenant is liable for the costs of repairs."

The landlord carried out "extensive" repairs after the woman's tenancy ended - despite the house being fully redecorated 18 months before that.

It took 42 days to carry out repairs at the property and, as a result, the tribunal found a claim of four weeks of paid rent was justified.

In total, Kaweka-Webster is to pay $6,014.53 to the landlord.