Hi Everyone. I had this 3 bedroom 2 bath house leased to a couple who had a toddler. They stayed in the property for about 2 years and moved out 2 weeks ago.
About 3 months ago, I went to the property for a maintenance issue (broken shower box door) and found the property to be quite dirty. This bathroom had a very strong stench (urine smell). I also noticed a double mattress in the lounge and the carpet around the laundry door damp.
I contacted the PM straightway and asked her to do an inspection. She did that and told me the property was very dirty.
I changed the PM and at the same time came to know that the tenant was moving out.
When the tenant moved out, I went there with the new PM for a final inspection and found that the place has been left in a mess. The kitchen table top its edge had a thick hardened grease. The draw handles (which are made of solid timber) have grease which had to be scrapped off with a scrapping tool. All the draws, cabinets and all the surfaces has this slimy covering. Looks like no one wiped the surfaces in years. All the surfaces and parts of the rangehood is covered with thick shoot and slime. It is so thick that the light from the rangehood is barely seen. The kitchen and meals area tiles are exteremly dirty and grout is just black and covered with food particles.
The bathrooms are in horrible condition. The grout in the 2nd bathroom and turned completely black covered with mildew, mold, fungi etc. The sliding doors are jammed.
There are cobwebs on all coners in all the rooms.
There are marks on the paint.
There are food marks on the walls, where it seems the kept the dining table.
The house has timber floors. Overflowing water from the laundry has seeped under the carped near the laundry door and timber is damp (I have ripped part of the carpet to get it dry).
Outside the house, in the backyard, the garden beds have about 2 feet high grass. The footpath that leads to the clothes line is covered grass. The carport (which can park 3 cars), has heaps of oil marks on the concrete. There are paint marks on the housewall and timber fence (looks like car painting was done there).
I have been trying understand as how can a couple with the toddler leave the place so dirty. It all comes to the one conclusion, that there were more people living there. It looks like the couple were using the ensuite and others living in the house were using the 2nd bath/toilet. Then the kitchen and meals area became a communal facility. There are 3 bedrooms including the ensuite. The couple would have been using the ensuite. If there was a mattress in the lounge, then the 2 other bedrooms would definitely have been occupied. If this was the case then there were atleast 3 more people living there.
I have asked the PM not to release the bond as I want to claim for cleaning (inside and outside).
My question is how can I prove that there were more people living there then what was on the lease agreement? Can I ask for utility usage, water, gas, electrity from the relevant authorities and try to determine the number of occupants based on the usage?
Thanks a lot for reading.
About 3 months ago, I went to the property for a maintenance issue (broken shower box door) and found the property to be quite dirty. This bathroom had a very strong stench (urine smell). I also noticed a double mattress in the lounge and the carpet around the laundry door damp.
I contacted the PM straightway and asked her to do an inspection. She did that and told me the property was very dirty.
I changed the PM and at the same time came to know that the tenant was moving out.
When the tenant moved out, I went there with the new PM for a final inspection and found that the place has been left in a mess. The kitchen table top its edge had a thick hardened grease. The draw handles (which are made of solid timber) have grease which had to be scrapped off with a scrapping tool. All the draws, cabinets and all the surfaces has this slimy covering. Looks like no one wiped the surfaces in years. All the surfaces and parts of the rangehood is covered with thick shoot and slime. It is so thick that the light from the rangehood is barely seen. The kitchen and meals area tiles are exteremly dirty and grout is just black and covered with food particles.
The bathrooms are in horrible condition. The grout in the 2nd bathroom and turned completely black covered with mildew, mold, fungi etc. The sliding doors are jammed.
There are cobwebs on all coners in all the rooms.
There are marks on the paint.
There are food marks on the walls, where it seems the kept the dining table.
The house has timber floors. Overflowing water from the laundry has seeped under the carped near the laundry door and timber is damp (I have ripped part of the carpet to get it dry).
Outside the house, in the backyard, the garden beds have about 2 feet high grass. The footpath that leads to the clothes line is covered grass. The carport (which can park 3 cars), has heaps of oil marks on the concrete. There are paint marks on the housewall and timber fence (looks like car painting was done there).
I have been trying understand as how can a couple with the toddler leave the place so dirty. It all comes to the one conclusion, that there were more people living there. It looks like the couple were using the ensuite and others living in the house were using the 2nd bath/toilet. Then the kitchen and meals area became a communal facility. There are 3 bedrooms including the ensuite. The couple would have been using the ensuite. If there was a mattress in the lounge, then the 2 other bedrooms would definitely have been occupied. If this was the case then there were atleast 3 more people living there.
I have asked the PM not to release the bond as I want to claim for cleaning (inside and outside).
My question is how can I prove that there were more people living there then what was on the lease agreement? Can I ask for utility usage, water, gas, electrity from the relevant authorities and try to determine the number of occupants based on the usage?
Thanks a lot for reading.
The time for that has passed. In future, regular inspections by your PM will answer this issue, along with the onging cleanliness concern.
