The tenants from hell
Rabeena Ahmad even had to call out the police to investigate the two-bedroom flat in Main Street as the smell caused concern there might be a dead body inside.
Instead it was discovered the woman and her primary school age son, who had been there for a year, had been living in filth.
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Hide AdMouldy food could be found in every room, even the upstairs hall cupboard, the toilet was blocked, rubbish, including sanitary products, littered the floor, a huge pile of used needles sat on a chest of drawers, furniture, bedding and carpets were soiled beyond use and unidentified stains covered the walls.
The only ones that seemed truly at home were the swarm of flies found throughout the property.
Mrs Ahmad said: “You always hear what happens when a landlord mistreats their tenant, but what happens when the shoe is on the other foot, what recourse do I have?
“The smell was so bad that the hairdressers across the landing were quite rightly complaining, and I was so scared we’d find a body that I called the police.
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Hide Ad“Thankfully we didn’t find a body, but I was staggered by the mess we were greeted with which was disgusting.
“This was a lovely flat when we let it out, but now look at it, I cannot believe how squalid these people have made it, I would expect better if animals had been living here.
“How you could abuse someone else’s property like this is beyond me.”
Mrs Ahmad has removed skipfuls of black bags from the property and is having it professionally cleaned.
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Hide AdShe said: “I rent out several properties in the town and I’ve never had any problems close to this.
“I hadn’t received any money since March so I’m out of pocket and have this massive bill to make the place habitable again.
“This was the first time I had rented to a single mother and, while you don’t want to tar a whole section of society with the same brush, after this experience I’d think twice about doing it again.”