THE story of a West Launceston landlord whose property was trashed by tenants last weekend has encouraged another landlord to speak out about her ``ongoing nightmare''.
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The Examiner yesterday reported that an anonymous West Launceston landlord was left with a $15,000 repair bill after out-of-control party-goers wrecked his house.
Alyssa Curtayne, a Launceston woman who is travelling interstate, said yesterday that she was not afraid to speak up. She owns a West Launceston house which was previously rented by ``nightmare'' tenants.
Ms Curtayne said she believed the tenants who trashed her property were also responsible for damaging the other West Launceston house.
She had used the Gumtree website to find tenants and did not have a property manager until Friday.
The tenants who wrecked Ms Curtayne's house had a 12-month lease.
A man in his 20s was the sole signatory to the contract, but several young men and their partners lived in the house.
Ms Curtayne said the tenants' behaviour worsened during the second half of their lease.
Numerous complaints from neighbours and abusive text messages sent to her were the tip of the iceberg, she said.
The worst damage occurred in May, when a weekend of partying left her property in a complete mess.
Human faeces had been stuffed inside a neighbour's letterbox, while Ms Curtayne's front garden was so full of rubbish her gardener was unable to access it and outdoor garden furniture had been smashed.
Inside her house, damage included: almost 20 ``goon bags'' (wine casks) stapled to fresh plasterwork, graffiti of male genitalia on a freshly plastered wall and a large mirror, 50 to 60 used condoms strewn about, plaster stuffed inside her couch - making it worthless - and a smashed window.
Ms Curtayne said the damage bill was $8000 at least.
``My new tenants, her kid came out to her and had found a needle - and that was after the cleaners had already been through,'' she said.
``These guys had hidden drugs and stuff throughout the house.
``Imagine if one of those kids had been stabbed by that - that would be horrifying.
``The lady who did the cleaning and the lady who did the insurance claim assessment, both said it was the worst case they had ever seen of any property damage.''
Ms Curtayne said the neighbours had been ``fantastic'' and she felt sorry for what they had to endure.
She said she could not believe that tenants could be so disrespectful towards a landlord's property.
The tenants left after she gave notice, and did not fight to get their bond back.
They also stole Ms Curtayne's refrigerator and her $800 Dyson vacuum cleaner, which police recovered.
``I've learnt a hard lesson,'' she said.
Email: ctang@examiner.com.au
