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Former tenants of a so-called ‘house of hell’ in Coodanup have hit back at claims they left their rental in a foul state, and say the property was close to unliveable when they first moved in.
Three family members say they moved into Rose Care’s McGlaggan Turn property in “desperation” after being unable to find any other accommodation.
For five years the tenancy was without major problems, but this week Ms Care posted photos of damage done to her house and laid the blame at the feet of the trio.
One former tenant said the property was “old, run-down and in a very dirty state” when he moved in with his mother and another family member.
He said the family took “several days” to get the house in a liveable condition.
Still, he says the oven never worked, the garage door was broken when they moved in, and damaged flooring that pre-dated the family’s tenancy was ripped up at Ms Care’s request.
Shocking photos provided to the Mail by Ms Care showed the property in a filthy state, with dirt and grime covering the bathroom.
But photos taken by the family on September 28 following their vacate clean show the same bathroom clean and tidy.
“The shower was not left in that condition,” the family said.
“We don’t know when [Ms Care] took those photos, but it didn’t look like that when we left.”
Nor were the windows smashed when the former tenants vacated the property, according to the family.
They conceded they had broken two windows accidentally, but said Ms Care had agreed to take the cost of repairs out of their bond.
Concerning claims made by Ms Care about a dog abandoned at the house by the family, the former tenants said the dog had voluntarily been surrendered to the RSPCA as it had cancer.
They also said no children had lived at the property for at least four years.
The family said they were hesitant to complain about repairs which needed doing as they did not want to be kicked out of the property.
They also said Ms Care had never done a rental inspection, and until this week they were unaware she was unhappy with their tenancy.
No property condition report had been provided to the family when they took on the lease.
The family has since relocated to a different area.
They said they were considering legal action after being “named and shamed” on social media.
