Evicting Hoarder Tenants.

About 2 weeks ago I posted about some problematic renters that were keeping the house like a dump.
Renters that live like pigs

Following that I did end up giving them an eviction. However now looking forward, there’s a very probable reality that I’ll be left with a large clean-up bill when they leave. There's possibly 3-4 dumpster loads of trash that may need cleaning up, there's a good chance that the damage from the rabbit doing its business inside for so long will require the carpets to be replaced... and the list goes on.
My agent tells me it will be hard to monitor the condition of the house until its handed over in about 7 weeks. Do you have any advice on what can be done over the next 7 weeks to minimise the likelihood that the place is left in its current situation?

 

I’d do a pre-exit condition inspection.

 

Is that something you do a week before, or can you do a few times in the lead up to them moving out. With so much work if they haven’t done it in the last week then there probably wouldn’t be enough time to make it happen. There really is a lot of work to be done.

 

Only you would know the answer; depends on your relationship, how soon it can get remedied, how much are you willing to let go etc etc. I'd do one asap based on what you say, and then monitor the progress. Hope you have good PM, insurance and bond.

 

You cant do an exit report until they actually vacate. Only then will you know for sure what they are taking and what they are leaving behind.

I dont know what the law is in NSW. You can call your insurer and ask them what they would suggest. Do you have lots of photos from Entry Report and the last inspection? You can also call the RTA and ask them where you stand.

In our case the tenants were advised at the start that various tradesmen would be coming by to give quotes and always gave more than 24 hours written notice on the correct form for each appointment, however the tenant regularly denied entrance. I was able to get inside twice to take measurements and photos, but there is a lot of damage that you wont know the full extent of until the house is empty and you start removing carpets and other fittings.

 

First phone call would be to your landlord insurance and ask for advice,but that may even be a problem because the PM would have known about the various problems for a while ,and knowing how insurance companies work and as I don't think the bond will cover the damage..The question the insurance will ask is the copy of the lease
then why do you let the property get this way..good luck..

 

Does the agent have a reasonable relationship with the tenants? They can organize to go in early and help guide the tenants as to the standard in which it needs to be left. The more they keep in touch now, the more aware and prepared you will be as the end approaches. Often in these situations the tenants underestimate how much time and effort they need to get their hoarded belongings out- which results in two things.... they don't move out in time and they end up becoming very difficult to deal with as their stress boils over. You probably wont be able to do much to affect the end result, but the PM can try to guide them along.

At this point you also want to have a very good read through of your insurance PDS and some of the key tenancy documents (entry, exit report, routine inspection reports). Rubbish removal, for example, is often capped at a pretty silly little value. Another risk you mentioned is that the insurance company will decree that some/all of the otherwise insurable items are not covered because you were aware of them and therefore it was gradual damage.
You need to identify those potential issues now and discuss with your PM how you're going to go about making your claim. You NEVER want to lie to the insurance company, but you DO want to be very careful about how you make the claim- the assessors job is to weed out anything that they don't need to pay, so don't give them any reasons.
Another thing to consider- will the PM administrate the claim and do you trust their experience to do it properly? I can count on one hand the amount of claims I've come across that a PM has not screwed up on- potentially costing you a LOT of money.