From the outside, it looks like a typical house in Pembroke, Ontario. That’s after homeowner Justin Dean spent several days cleaning up the yard and filling two industrial sized dumpsters with items left behind by previous tenants.
Dean is warning others to do their due diligence before renting out properties. The message comes after an estimated $70,000 to $100,000 in damages was done to his rental property in the west end of Pembroke.
In addition to signs of child neglect and animal abuse, Dean says feces was smeared everywhere inside the home, carpets had been ripped out, windows and doors broken, floors damaged, holes in the drywall, and kitchen cabinets in pieces. In one of the holes in the wall there was a pile of garbage waist height. The sewer had also backed up in the basement where there was a mattress on the ground for someone to sleep.
The decomposing body of a small dog was also left behind to rot in the shed.
Dean says he contacted the OSPCA, the OPP and the animal cruelty hotline who will open a case to look into the situation.
He tells myFM he knew the family had children and dogs when they first moved in 3-years ago and says there was some red flags during the application like making lump sum payments to utility providers. Dean is warning other landlords to do credit applications and frequent inspections of the home to ensure it’s up to your standards.
Dean says after months of trying to evict and dealing with the landlord tenant board, the family finally moved out of the house on July 1st, 2022. He says next steps will be dealing with insurance and figuring out how to return the home to a livable state.
Dean also plans to speak with a lawyer to hold the previous tenants accountable as police told him this is a civil matter. Despite the negative experience, Dean says he won’t let this deter him from renting again.
(written by: Rudy Kadlec)
Photos of the inside of the rental home in Pembroke that was destroyed by previous tenants.
