‘Nightmare tenant’

A “madhouse” is how a homeowner and realtor couple describe the state of their rental property when a renter, whom they said was a “nightmare tenant”, moved out after two and a half years, leaving behind a trail of destruction that cost them $2 million to repair.

In a video dated January 2024, showing the before and after state of the property, walls once painted with precision were dirty and stripped in some sections, exposing the bare surface. Missing tiles left gaping holes in the floor, and a water leak that was reportedly left unchecked caused flooding that seeped beneath the bathroom tiles, discolouring them. There was also evidence of soot on a wall that the homeowners guessed might’ve been a minor fire that went unreported.

“The windows were broken, tiles were broken out, the cupboard in the kitchen was destroyed, the tub was ruined. All the kitchen fixtures were ruined, the cabinets were all ruined, and all of this happened within a two-year span,” the wife said, adding that the property was newly renovated before it was rented to the tenant.

“It was basically a new house that [the tenant] got, and the bathroom was basically unusable when [the tenant] moved out. The way how the bathroom was treated, it wasn’t something that you could just go in there and clean out,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

The bathroom windows were no longer crystal clear but appeared more like frosted glass due to a build-up of soap scum. Recently changed plumbing fixtures were also reportedly destroyed.

“[The tenant] never cared for the place at all. We had a shed outside to keep personal belongings. The backyard was very big, so it was far away from the house and there is sufficient space to play and do everything, and that shed was destroyed by [the tenant’s] kids and profanities were written on it,” she added.

The real estate investor also shared that for the two-and-a-half years the tenant occupied their property, they received multiple calls from neighbours who complained about their tenant’s behaviour.

“We started to get calls at odd hours of the day from our neighbours — late at night and early mornings — with them saying, ‘We can’t manage this, this is overwhelming for us. This is your tenant, this is your house, and you just need to do something about it because we cannot manage the environment’,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“Everybody just could not manage [the tenant] because it was not just what was happening in the house, but [the tenant] was very loud for everybody to see and to hear.

“It was a matter where we didn’t live there and we started to become so uncomfortable by the fact that our neighbours were so uncomfortable,” the homeowner added.

After almost a year of back and forth and showing up at the property demanding that the tenant vacate the premises, the couple shared that they were finally free. Now, they have shifted their focus to more short-term rental options, but said they have not fully given up on long-term rentals.

“Long-term rental is a challenge because you have people who are nightmares like that, but I wouldn’t say because experiences like that are possible that long-term rentals are not worth it. It’s worth it if you can’t manage to be there [at your property] all the time,” the wife reasoned.

Her husband shared that, as realtors and investors with more than 10 years’ experience, they had never experienced anything to that extent before, but having learnt from the experience with their “nightmare tenant”, they are taking steps to shield their properties and those of their clients from destruction.

“We didn’t do our due diligence. We didn’t do enough checks on the client’s history. There was no challenge in terms of collecting the rent, but the tenant was just a nightmare based on their personality and their behaviour. Ultimately, we think [the tenant] was a bit unstable and if we had done our due diligence, we would have found out some of the red flags,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Since then, the husband-and-wife duo have inserted an inspection clause into their lease agreement, which states that they can visit the property once every six months to ensure the property is in good condition.

“We’ve been encouraging persons to do this with long-term rental because now, being in the business of real estate plus dealing with other tenants, we find that having a very good lease agreement with terms in it for inspection is important.

“Also, the background check is important — verifying income, verifying bank statements with banks — and just finding out people’s situation,” said the husband.

He added that he has also seen it fit to ensure that prospective tenants have professional references, including a previous landlord, and that they’ve instructed their clients to request the same information.

“Ultimately, you should be doing the background checks and asking the current landlord [about their] experience. If the person says they are moving because the place is going to be renovated, call the landlord and find out what’s the current situation,” he stressed.

The couple also urged landlords to be careful and take their time finding the right tenant, warning that any tenant rushing to rent a property might be a red flag. They further encouraged thorough checks on individuals who claim they have a relative or spouse who will pay their rent.

“See if everything they are telling you is adding up, because the behaviour of making up stories or making up situations won’t change. It is a part of people’s personalities, so if, from the get-go, you find out that their stories are not adding up, it is a red flag,” said the wife.

According to the Landlord Tenant Covenant published by the Rent Assessment Board, once a property is occupied, a tenant agrees to “permit the landlord or his agents at all reasonable times to enter upon and inspect the premises and the state and condition of every part thereof, and carry out necessary repairs”. However, prior notice must be given to the tenant.

It further states that a tenant agrees to keep a property in good condition, pay their rent on time, refrain from causing nuisance to adjoining occupants, and damage to the property.

Additionally, landlords agree to keep up reasonable maintenance, pay property taxes, permit the tenant to pay their rent, and allow the tenant to enjoy the property peacefully.

The top image shows what the walls looked like before a destructive tenant moved in to the homeowners’ property while the bottom image shows the wall stripped of paint when the tenant moved out two and a half years later.

A bathroom window that was once clear has a build-up of soap scum.