Two female ‘tenants from hell’ trashed a grandfather’s home by smearing cat faeces all over the walls and floors and left him with a £21,500 bill.
Landlord Tommy Lappin, 68, wasn’t even able to gain entry to his home for 10 months but was revolted by what he eventually discovered.
He had expected to give the three-bedroom property a ‘quick hoover and carpet clean’ before welcoming new tenants but was stunned to discover the house in Swindon, Wiltshire, in a horrific state.
The carpets, walls and furniture throughout the terraced property were caked in stinking cat faeces and littered with mounds of rubbish.
Two female ‘tenants from hell’ trashed a grandfather’s home and left the walls and floors smeared with cat faeces and left him with a £21,500 bill. Landlord Tommy Lappin, 68, wasn’t even able to gain entry to his home for 10 months but was revolted by what he eventually discovered
Retired construction equipment trainer Mr Lappin claims he’ll be forced to fork out £15,000 to clean and repair the property – on top of another £6,500 he claims the tenants owe him in unpaid rent and bills.
In footage from when Mr Lappin finally accessed the house in early September, daughter Sharon Hughes, 49, and granddaughter Maisie Paget, 19, can be heard gasping in shock.
Mr Lappin has been forced to wear a hazmat suit with breathing apparatus to protect himself while throwing away all of the furniture
As he entered the property he was overwhelmed by the vile odour and has been forced to wear a hazmat suit with breathing apparatus to protect himself while throwing out every piece of furniture.
He believes that because the tenants are unemployed he will never get back the £15,000 it cost to repair the property and has no faith in the courts to bring them to justice.
Mr Lappin, from Marlborough, Wiltshire, said: ‘They really were tenants from hell, I was absolutely devastated when I saw the house, it was a real state.
‘When I walked through the door I couldn’t believe it, it was absolutely horrendous.
‘I felt shock, I never, ever expected the state of this house to be like it was.
‘I couldn’t believe my eyes, nor could my daughter or granddaughter.
‘It was full of cat faeces, on every piece of furniture, carpet, everything.
‘This is my pension I’m spending here, on my house in the time I should be going off and enjoying myself, and I can’t because I’m here doing this and cleaning up their mess.
He had expected to give the three-bedroom property a ‘quick hoover and carpet clean’ before welcoming new tenants but was stunned to discover the house in Swindon, Wiltshire, in a horrific state. The carpets, walls and furniture throughout the terraced property were caked in stinking cat faeces and mounds of rubbish were also dumped by the two female tenants
‘I would guess the damage would cost me somewhere between £12,000 and £15,000 to replace the furniture and restore it.
‘This was a fully furnished, fully functioning house and we’ve had to thrown away every piece of furniture.
‘All the furniture had faeces on it, as a cat climbs on almost everything to get out of their own mess.
‘They climbed on top of the doors and spread it everywhere including the windowsills and the bath.
‘They’d walked all over the mattress, the furniture, anywhere they could to get out of it I presume.
Construction equipment trainer Mr Lappin claims he’ll be forced to fork out £15,000 to clean and repair the property – on top of another £6,500 he claims the tenants owe him in unpaid rent and bills
‘I’ve paid over £1,000 for a skip and had to throw every bit of furniture, carpet and underlay away.
‘The TVs are mine and they were thrown down on the floor in the cat mess.
‘The one bedroom I assume they were sleeping in was a lot better than the rest of the house.
‘We managed to save some things in there – the wardrobe, dresser – and I hired a washer for that carpet, but apart from that it’s every single room.
‘I thought I’d have to give it a quick hoover out and maybe a bit of carpet cleaning, not restore the whole house from start to finish.
‘There was faeces in the hallway, the downstairs toilet and the upstairs landing. We’ve even had to rip up the floorboards and replace them.
Mr Lappin, from Marlborough, Wiltshire, said: ‘They really were tenants from hell, I was absolutely devastated when I saw the house, it was a real state. ‘When I walked through the door I couldn’t believe it, it was absolutely horrendous’
‘I’ve spent day and night on this since I walked through the door.’
Since Mr Lappin’s tenants moved in at the end of last year, the father-of-two said he had struggled to gain entry to the property, even after asking to check the fire alarms
Since Mr Lappin’s tenants moved in at the end of last year, the father-of-two said he had struggled to gain entry to the property, even after asking to check the fire alarms.
Mr Lappin claims the two women constantly made up constant excuses, meaning he hadn’t seen his own home since they moved in in November 2019.
He said: ‘I kept trying to get in and I said I needed to look at the fire alarms.
‘There was always an excuse, right down to the fact her sister’s baby was really poorly.
‘We’ve sorted it out now and got back down to the bare basics.
‘I had some contact from one of the girls’ mothers. She was devastated by how her daughter was living but I haven’t heard anything since then.
‘Whether they’ll put some money back into this or not, I have no idea. She said her daughter would pay back any money she owed me.
‘They haven’t paid rent or any of the bills. I’ve paid all their bills for all the time they’ve been in here virtually.
Mr Lappin claims the two women constantly made up constant excuses, meaning he hadn’t seen his own home since they moved in in November 2019. He said: ‘I kept trying to get in and I said I needed to look at the fire alarms. There was always an excuse, right down to the fact her sister’s baby was really poorly’
‘They owed me £6,500 before I walked through the door.
‘I don’t think I’d get anywhere with legal action. The chances are they’ll go to court and say ”I’ll pay you £10 a month”. I’d be dead before I got my money back.
‘I want them to go back to work and pay me a certain amount of money until they’ve restored some of the damage.
‘My grandchildren have been absolutely fantastic, as has Sharon. They’ve all been tucking in and helping, even my ex-wife.’