Bridgetown landlord stunned after property left in ruins by tenant

A Bridgetown landlord has been left stunned and out of pocket after having his investment property completely trashed by a tenant he and his community had once rallied around to help her get back on her feet. Adrian Bolton leased his property in the South West town to the woman last May, who had called on the community for help when she claimed she had nowhere to live and only the clothes on her back while she was trying to escape an alleged violent relationship. Mr Bolton agreed to aid the woman and her young child by renting the home to her at a cheap price, while Bridgetown community members donated furniture, clothes, money and food. But almost one year later, Mr Bolton claims the tenant left his property in ruins and has fled without paying thousands of dollars worth of rent. Images obtained by the Manjimup-Bridgetown Times show couches flipped and torn, toilets littered with rubbish, discarded food packaging dumped around the kitchen, filth and grime up walls and bedrooms packed with hoarded trash. And Mr Bolton said these were only the beginning of the issues. “They had two big dogs and four cats living in the house that they never had permission to have there,” he said. “They never did anything with the yard, there was rubbish all over the yard. “They damaged walls, flyscreens, curtains.” Mr Bolton said it was particularly disappointing as he and the Bridgetown community had gone to great lengths to try to help the woman and her child. “We spent several weeks getting the house prepared and people bringing stuff to the house,” he said. “Beds, mattresses, clothing, money, food, everything you know. It was magnificent the response from the community, as happens in this town, and it’s what we love about the town.” Mr Bolton said he expected the total damage bill would be “several thousand dollars”. Bridgetown community members were this week helping the frustrated landlord get his investment property back up to scratch. Mr Bolton said he appreciated how quickly residents had come to his aid. “The nice thing is that there are people putting their hand up to come give us a hand to clean up,” he said.