Tenant ordered to pay up after worms found wriggling in carpet

The tenant said the worms found wriggling in the carpet were likely escaped meal worms, which she kept to feed frogs. Photo / 123RF

A tenant whose frog's food escaped - leaving the landlords to find worms wriggling in the carpet - has been ordered to pay up.

Maya Croll-Wright was ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to cover the cleaning cost, after the landlord found the critters in the soiled carpet and had to fork out for stain removal treatment.

Her landlords, Murray and Judith Watson, took her to the Tenancy Tribunal seeking rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy at the Christchurch property.

Croll-Wright admitted to the Tenancy Tribunal that the worms found wriggling in the carpet were probably escaped meal worms, which she kept to feed frogs.

Tribunal adjudicator R. Merrett ordered her to pay $310 to cover the cost of cleaning the stained carpet.

Croll-Wright was also ordered to pay up $320 of unpaid rent and $97 to reimburse the landlords for removing rubbish she'd left behind at the Harewood rental.

The Watsons also applied for compensation of the rental's stove, which they said needed to be replaced after Croll-Wright's tenancy because it had been damaged by the burning of material in the stove and under the elements.

Adjudicator Merrett found the tenant breached her obligation to leave the stove reasonably clean, but wasn't satisfied the stove needed to be replaced completely.

Because the stove was 25 years old and still in working order, Merrett ordered Croll-Wright pay $100 to compensate the Watsons, who had to properly clean the stove.

Ultimately Croll-Wright was ordered to pay her previous landlords $848.19 in damages, inclusive of her bond.