Imagine this is your home. You've worked long hours to buy it, renovate it and maintain it in living conditions. Then you decided to rent it. Would you do the same thing that this landlord did when he saw his house completely destroyed by his rude tenants? But these tenants messed with the wrong guy as this landlord knew exactly how to make them pay!
All landlords have the same rule: be respectful while you live there. However, these tenants were a lot less than respectful! When the landlord finally decided it was time to step in, he had no idea his house would look as if a bomb exploded in every room!
The French Landlord
Thomas Ravaux decided to rent his house and knew what rules to follow. He would draft a contract with the new tenants and then he let them move in.
He was quite happy about the family he found as tenants. They were a young couple with three well-mannered children. There were no red flags, so Thomas was sure he made the right choice. What could possibly go wrong?
Renovations Had Been Made
The apartment was immaculate for the new tenants. Thomas renovated the place a before the family moved in. He made sure the plumbing was working, and he repainted everything.
He even buffed the hardwood floors and checked everything was in working order. The apartment was ready for the family to move in.
Attention to Details
Looking at his photos on social media, Thomas is definitely a person with attention to details. These photos from another house that he had recently set for renting looked heavenly!
While he didn’t take time to photograph the previous apartment before renting it, it’s clear the place looked amazing. But nearly a year after the renovations, he would have the shock of his life…
Transforming the Place
Now the apartment in our story had been fully renovated after he bought it a few years before renting it. After spending a lot of time improving it, he had a few tenants over the years.
But while these last tenants looked normal, they were definitely lacking a huge chunk of respect. What Thomas found in the house was proof these people didn’t even respect their own selves!
His Story Went Viral
After sharing the photos taken in the trashed apartment, Thomas’ story went so viral that the rest of the world agreed this was a horror story for all the landlords out there.
The family that had lived in his apartment didn’t pay the rent for 14 months, until Thomas had enough and when he went to collect the debt, they had already moved out. Here’s what they left behind…
How It All Started
After the first month of moving in, the perfect family seemed to forget to pay their rent. Thomas didn’t think too much of it, so he waited one more month. But as weeks passed, it was clear something was wrong.
Maybe it was a mistake or a banking error, he first thought. So he called to the bank and then the woman on the customer care line told him there had been no payments in the last months.
He Made the Call
Angry about not getting the rent for the past four months, Thomas called the tenants. The phone rang and rang, but nobody answered. So he called again, thinking that maybe they were busy.
Then, the call dropped. Thomas was now sure that the tenants were avoiding him. And that’s how 14 months passed with Thomas trying to reach out and ask for the money his tenants owed him. He had been patient, but it was time to act!
Driving to the Apartment
Thomas pulled up to the apartment, ready to talk to the tenants. As he knocked on the door, he realized nobody would answer at the door. It was clear the house was empty, so he whipped out the spare key.
He already knew what to tell the rude tenants that hadn’t paid him the rent for more than a year. But as he opened the door, he felt like the house was spinning…
The Weird Note
Before entering the apartment something caught the eye of Thomas. It was a handwritten note that read "Ring this doorbell". Thomas was really confused.
"Didn't they hear the knocks on the door?", he thought. Then he decided to ring that "doorbell" as the note suggested.
The Doorbell
This was the first major red flag for Thomas. The doorbell was pulled off the socket and it appeared that someone attempted to wire it. Thomas was so spooked that he thought of calling the police but, he decided to press the button anyway.
A loud disturbing sound came out of it...
He Was Running Out Of Patience
No one answered and it was clear that Thomas had enough. He realized that the doorbell was only placed there to scare anyone who would press it.
He had run out of patience and it was time to enter the house no matter what. No one could prepare him for what he saw inside.
No Tenants
There was no trace of the family, but what shocked him was that the whole apartment was filled with trash!
His furniture was splintered, all over the floor, mixed with bags of trash, children’s toys and dishes. The stench was unbearable, mixed with discarded trash and rotten food.
He Was Disgusted
How could a family with children live in such filth? Wherever he’d look around the house, he would see trash and filth.
The family brought dogs in the house as well, he realized as he found a leash and traces of feces. He nearly threw up!
A Nightmare
As he turned around to go into the bathroom, he saw holes punched into the drywall. It took him a good half an hour to calm himself.
This was clearly a landlord’s nightmare! How could a family live like that? Thomas soon concocted a revenge plan.
This Family Was Terrible
How could parents allow three children to live in those conditions? The rooms were filled with trash, and even the trash can from outside had been brought inside the house!
Ironically, most of the junk was left spread around the house and the trash can. Not only his tenants had been 14 months behind their rent, but they also trashed the whole place…
Filled With Junk
The kitchen was also filled with junk, from cardboard boxes to kitchen utensils and food laying on the floor.
The fridge still contained some rotten food as well. Thomas almost cried at what he just saw, thinking how hard he worked to restore the house after he bought it. He knew what to do next, though. But was it legal?
A Pristine House Trashed In One Year
All of his efforts were now a thing of the past. But he would soon have his revenge! First, he had to call his lawyer and make sure it was legal…
After taking photos of the place and sending them to his lawyer, Thomas called him to ask him whether his plan wasn’t going to get him in trouble.
Calling the Lawyer
He then knocked on his neighbors’ door and asked for how long the tenants had been away. The neighbors said the house had been empty for weeks.
Thomas then made another call, and soon, this terrible family would pay for what they did.
Piles of Trash
Thinking back at the pristine apartment he left behind and now looking at the piles of trash, rotten food, broken furniture, walls and all the animal excrements, Thomas felt like punching someone.
But he wasn’t going to have a fight with the rude tenants. He had something else in mind that would make this family’s life hell.
They Did it on Purpose
These tenants had definitely did all of this on purpose. The broken furniture and the holes in the wall were either signs of a fight or just their way to leave a message to the landlord.
Maybe they were annoyed by Thomas’ calls for the rent - calls that they never answered to. As he got legal advice, Thomas knew what to do, so he made the call.
Calling in A Witness
After taking these photos and calling a representative to witness what happened to the apartment, Thomas called some help to remove the trash.
He wasn’t going to let the former tenants get away with it. A smile slowly began forming on his face, thinking about the moment he would have his revenge.
Loading Up Everything
A truck pulled in front of the apartment and loaded all the trash… From broken furniture, to garbage, dog feces, dirty dishes, rotten food and personal belongings; they were all piled in the truck.
The huge stinking pile of garbage was finally out the door. It was payback time!
A Taste Of Their Own Medicine
These tenants were about to get a taste of their own medicine, thought Thomas as he drove his car behind the truck towards the location where his tenants had rented a new apartment.
They would never expect it! And Thomas would be there to witness it all…
A Special Package
He parked his car and took out the phone to film the moments when the truck began backing up I front of the rude tenants’ driveway.
As people passed by, they had to stop and gawk at the sight. Thomas though, smiled and kept filming the whole moment.
Revenge Time
Thomas then uploaded the video on YouTube and Facebook. In just a few hours, he was once again a viral sensation.
But what really made him feel great was that he had his revenge now. What did people think of his revenge plan?
Nightmare Tenants
Most people praised Thomas for teaching this family a lesson, agreeing this should happen to all nightmare tenants.
However, others complained that the driveway wasn’t exactly belonging to the family…
The Other Landlord Has to Clean
“Not a bad idea but if these tenants can’t pay rent moved to new place which is not their place you just made a big mess for a new landlord who now can sue you for jumping on his property,” wrote one person.
However, Thomas had made sure this mess wouldn’t fall in the landlord’s care.
He Had the Law By His Side
In his defense, Thomas said that “It was carnage inside. Everything was totally destroyed.” After all, he was there, and the photos show only a small part of what was really in there.
He explained that for the house to be used again, he had to repair and disinfect everything! “The carpet is messed up, there are holes in the walls, all the paintwork needs re-doing, and we will need to disinfect it all.”
A Terrible Stench
“The smell is unbearable. I had a legal representative witness the damage before we emptied the place,” added Thomas.
Not only he had no payment for 14 months, but he had to pay for all the damages. So what happened next?
It Was Their Junk
“I met the authorities and we talked… For now, I’m not worried,” explained Thomas in a comment.
“The old tenants had to clear the sidewalk and bring everything to the dump Tuesday night,” he concluded, happily saying that “Everything is cleaned.”
The Landlord’s Viral Story
This is why Thomas’ story got viral in no time. Unfortunately, tenants like this family had been around for decades.
We can only hope these guys learned their lesson and rethink their lifestyle before it’s too late.
He Was Lucky
Actually, Thomas was lucky the tenants left the house before he got there. You see, evicting tenants in most Western European countries and US is quite tough.
The laws protect tenants and evicting them is a long and costly process. Thankfully, this family left on their own.