Good lord, cheeky people - hope she deducts costs from their deposit when they leave. Not much she can do about the ceanothus except to keep her fingers crossed - it might regrow.

Sadly its not likely to recover as it s usual to only lightly clip Ceanothus and not cut back into old wood.Even if it did it would be very slow and a replacement plant would grow more vigorously .

Oh dear. I haven't told her about this yet (she lives in London caring for her Dad, hence letting her house in the meantime) and I know she's going to be very unhappy when she hears about this. There were so many beautiful, mature plants out there and all of them gone. How could they! Sigh. I was hoping I'd be able to tell her that the Ceonothus could at least be saved but it seems not. Thanks anyway.

Yes sad indeed I sincerely hope they havent treated her house in the same way ..

It does make you wonder. I'm going to go round and take a peek through the back fence tomorrow to see whether they've done the same at the back. If they have, I think I'll cry because her garden was really nice.

hope not bonkersbon,had a friend did the same and they gutted her house when they left,unbeleivable

Why do people do these horrible things, ? pure vandalisem.

it is theft so she could press charges if she wished too.

How dreadful, you just cannot believe that these things happen can you. I know someone who let their house and it was totally trashed, doors burnt, toilet smashed, graffitti on walls etc, the insurance covered everything but it was a terrible thing to deal with, I am sure your insurance would help and hopefully you can recover costs.

Depends on wether this a private let .. although more expensive the only answer to go through a letting agency who you would have redress against.

Many people place private ads offering their homes to let .. insurance would only cover it if morgage lender informed and higher premiums paid.

Buy to let mortgages insist upon it but letting your own home fraught with difficulties .Sounds like if only the garden damaged a lucky escape ..

Now I'm really starting to worry. I want to go over there right now and look through the back fence but I doubt I'd see much in the dark. I'll just have to be patient and wait until tomorrow. I'm not breaking the news until I know what the back looks like.

I hope her insurance covers the gardens but even if it does, it won't bring back seven years of tending and caring and she certainly won't be able to buy lovely, established borders etc. She'll probably cry when I tell her.

It's awful that so many people have little or no respect for other people's property. I'm sure they wouldn't wreck a house if they actually owned it themselves.

How right you are Dioritt, try not to worry I am sure good will come out in the end.

That is disgraceful. You and your friend are obviously good considerate people, they unfortunately have to live with themselves!!!

Sorry didnt mean to worry you .. its not down to you surely .You re expressing concern that these people never feel and our expectation is that most would respect our homes the way we do ..dont think any of us trying to scare you merely empathise and sadly these experiences common throughout the country not just in London.

Bonkersbon. I somehow missed your response last time I checked. She did go through a letting agency and her mortage company approved the letting so everything's in order as far as that's concerned. Do you know anything about how she'd approach this being as you said she's have redress against them?

It is disgraceful, Fractal, but I've heard of things like this happening before. It's so strange though; the tenants have been there for 8 months now and as they'd been good tenants during the initial six months, she was happy to sign them up for another year and now this! I was only talking to her a few days ago about how lovely the poppies were now that they're in full bloom and she asked whether the irises were blooming. That's what I went round there to look for. They certainly weren't blooming. They've even pulled down the montana that completely covered her entrance. I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw it.

I realise it isn't down to me, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I also hate seeing a lovely garden ripped to pieces :(

How terrible this has happened she would have to check to see if the garden comes under the agreement, it should do. I can symphathise with her and your self as it can and has worked both ways, my daughter was renting a home from a foriegn bussiness man, he never renewed her contract but let her stay not saying any thing she cleaned all the house up, done all the garden up and the house, in carpet and decor as he said he liked long term tenants, just as she was about to finish the garden with a few new slabs she bought, he told her she had to get out, giving her a months notice, when she paid a deposit and month in advance rent when she moved in, as he was moving in which was a lie he was putting his son in, then rehoused her in a 2 bedroomed house which she has 4 children, as the council refused to give her any where, she was born and bred in this town and yet seem to allow outsiders to do what they like, if they have business or money, he never in the 2 and half years living there had her gas serviced or do any repairs which she asked for.

If approved by mortgage company should be covered by insurance and operated by letting agency they charge a fee to scrutinize tenants.Tenants are supposed to meet letting agents criteria before being deemed suitable ..the whole point of using an agency is they take responsibilty for tenants conduct during tenancy.

They should make inspections and report concerns to the landlord.

They should have made a condition report on the property prior to tenancy and if your friend is yet to return you should express concerns to them to assess how property has been left.

It should not be you bearing this news the agency have made credit checks bank details etc so tenants should be traceable its down to them to explain .

That's terrible, Sixpence. She must have been so upset. I know I'd have been devastated. That's the problem with private rents though, isn't it? There's no security and you never really have a home. But when the council refuse.... I hope she's happy where she is now or is she still stuck in the 2 bedroomed house?

I'm pretty sure the tenants are still there as this happened earlier today. I drive past her house every day and yesterday the poppies were still blooming and the ceonothus was definitely still there. There were also lots of dandelions, which my friend knew about as they've been there a while. She's coming up in a month to visit me so will no doubt do something about it then but I have to tell her. I know she'd want to know (she asked me to keep an eye out, being as I'm on the next street).

They did do a condition report because I was there when they did it so that's ok. The tenants are Polish and don't speak very much English but when my friend visited a while ago when they wanted their contract renewed, everything was fine. And now suddenly it's not.

take them to court , people like that should not be allowed to live in premises when they do things like that.
What they did was well out of order considering its someone elses property.

Get some legal advise as well , at least you and your friend know where you stand

Really think you ve done as much as any friend could do ..if contract renewed then down to agents and your friend this is slighty more complex than just keeping an eye on a property .If not then signs not good are they likely to claim didnt understand terms of tenancy or possibly disappear back to Poland ?

Tricky ..hopefully contract not been renewed and friend can claim she needs to move back in to her home.This would reduce the problems of moving tenants out whilst under contract even if they have broken terms of tenancy agreement.

From what you say sounds as if contract has been renewed and things beginning to slide ..very little you can do other than keep friend up to speed .

I think you should report it to the police in order to get hold of a crime number which allows you to make an insurance claim without that crime number the insurance company will not act.This is easily done by calling in at your local police station. Also if the letting was done through an agent then the agent should be aware of whats happened in case the agent is approached by these tenants for another letting somewhere else. I do think a month is too long to leave things.

No she is still stuck in the 2 bed Dionitt, which she had to clean all the mess up in that too after the men had finished putting in the wooden floor, and kithchen, which I would of refused as she done this in the last house but it was muck she had to clean in that, her landlord did nt even protect her deposit either and has nt in this house as well, seems people can come here and get away with every thing yet we have to abide by the laws, or we are get done but they seem to get away with it. Their answer is we no understand, I think I might try that verse in future.

Am so sorry this has happened to your friend..It's heartbreaking to hear....It surely must be classed as theft?

IM SO SORRY FOR YOUR FRIEND, THE STREET I LIVE ON TWO HOUSES HAVE BEEN SOLD IN THE LAST 4 YEARS AND BOTH OF THEM BELONGED TO TWO OLDER WOMEN THAT HAD SUCH BEAUTIFUL GARDENS. BOTH HOUSES AFTER BEING SOLD, THE NEW OWNERS JUST DESTROYED ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS. I'M SURE IF THE TWO LADIES ARE WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER THEY ARE VERY UPSET TO SEE ALL THERE YEARS OF HARD WORK AND LOVE DESTROYED.

I've told my friends and although she was upset, she seems to think it will be difficult getting new tenants and as she's dependent on the income, is willing to let it go. She says she'll mention it when she visits and ask them not to remove anything from the garden in future without her permission but personally I think that's being a bit too kind. I understand that she needs the money but as I said to her, if you give some people a finger they'll take your whole arm.

She also told me that she received and email from the letting agency a few weeks ago saying that she needed to remove the vine around her porch. She replied telling them that it's in fact a clematis and that it is staying. Luckily, that's still there. Because of this she's wondering whether the letting agency chopped the head off the ceonothus as it was quite close to the front door (but didn't stop anybody from using the door and a trim up to tidy it would have been all that was needed).

However, I've just driven past again (I drive past most days as it's on the way out of the estate) and green shoots are coming out of the top of the stump so there may be hope being as this has happened since I saw it yesterday. They aren't big but they're definitely there.

Dianenolin. The same thing happened to my grandfather's garden. He was a very keen gardener (once received a medal from the Queen Mum for creating a garden at the docks during the 50s.... proud granddaughter bragging) and had an absolutely stunning garden. When he died the new owners just let the whole thing run to pot. It was heartbreaking to see.

Surely there are more desperate 'nice' people who need to rent a home and not the kind of people who are there now !! I would not let them off, no way.

No, neither would I, but she'll be up the creek without a paddle if she loses the income and as she said, she could end up with tenants that are even worse. I suppose there's some logic in that :)

Hmmmmm not sure about logic, when your tenants have stripped your garden clear there must be some action to take, raise the rent????

She appeared to be relieved that it was 'just' the plants. When I told her they'd cleared her front garden, she said her immediate thought was that the lawn was gone too and they'd put paving over the whole thing. I suppose she's just trying to look on the bright side.

Letting through an agent was a nightmare for us . My daughter let her flat when she moved to take up a new job. The first tenants were in for only six months and did £2000 worth of damage to furniture, fixtures and fittings. They were two newly graduated law students and a security guard. They threatened all sorts if we did not agree to them having their deposit back and the agents said it was normal wear and tear. We threatened both with a small claims court action and we got the deposit they had paid when they took over the flat. It was only £1500 but at least it helped. When we asked the agent to contact the insurance company and have them deal with the problem they said we had to pay the first £50 of every claim ie new toilet. cost to replace £54.00, our share £50 and insurance £4.00. New lounge carpet, they spilled battery acid on it at the doorway.Insurance said it was accidental damage and not eligible etc etc. The agents got sacked. Next lot were no better. The tenants complained the dyson did not work. We took another down to them. The agent had said they were due an inspection that day. It happened we turned up as the inspecting person arrived so we waited until he came out 5 minutes later before we went to the door. We had to go inside to pick up the offending item and were appalled at the state of the place. We got a beautifully typed report saying the place was pristine. The dyson was choked with dust and just needed to be emptied. No 2 agent out. The agents take between 17 and 25% of the rent to look after your interests. Help. I'm sure there must be good agents we just were very unlucky in choosing to use high street names. The Mortgage company allowed her to let but would not cover us with insurance and advised we let the agent insure the let.The last lot were a tad more efficient but failed to collect the rent for three months and the insurers had to pay. I do not think we were suitable let owners. We were not laid back enough. I hope everything works out for your friend.

Blimey, Scotsgran. What a nightmare. I think it's these kind of scenarios my friend's trying to avoid and would rather "just" have her front garden removed.

We rented privately when we first came back to this country and the letting agent never showed his nose anywhere near the place. We made several complaints about a cooker with no knobs (had to use a pair of pliers to turn it on/off), a window with a huge crack all the way down it (in one of the children's bedrooms!!), a front door that wouldn't shut properly (we had to prop it shut with a long pole under the handle) and several other things. Nothing was ever done. It seems to me that no matter whether you're the tenant or the landlord, letting agencies do very little for their money.

You are so right Dioritt.

Shocking really isn't it , a lesson to us all !!

My son in laws father does flats up for an indian lady in Yorkshire, who takes in students each time they leave he has to gut the place and renew all of it, he said they live like animals. I personally would nt insult animals.

I recall visiting my sons at various times when they were students (living separately, different years). If I tell you that I'd go to the loo before I got there and always refused a cup of tea unless I'd taken my own mug, that should give you a clue as to how students live. They didn't wreck their places, but I'm not enamoured of sticking to the kitchen floor as you walk to the sink...

When my daughter was at Uni, they had mice droppings in their oven !!!! Eeek, needless to say she didnt stay in that house too long, we asked the landlord to put a new oven in and give her a new mattress on her bed and in fact he did or he would have us to deal with. I shudder at the thought of any student pad.

Mouse droppings in the oven! Yuerg!

Those last stories just make me glad my daughter opted out of going to Uni. She moans a lot about the male housemates she lives with now (2 girls, 2 lads) because they don't clean the cooker after they've used it and tend to leave their washing up a bit too long. How she'd have coped with student life I really don't know. Lol.

I remember a carpet layer coming to us once and telling us about jobs he has for landlords and how filthy some people leave places. I honestly think I'd have to be desperate to let my home to strangers, which is sad really because I'm sure there are a lot of decent tenants out there too. Once again, I think it's probably a matter of a few make things difficult for the majority.

I agree Dio, shame really.

I'm going to put my hand up here and say there are good tenants out there - I'm a good tenant, lol! I've rented for years, and every place I've lived has been better when I've left than it was when I moved in, so we do exist.

Bamboo. Yes, I know there are good tenants out there, I've also been a good tenant and I also know there are some landlords who take the mickey. I gave one garden a complete makeover which led to much admiration from the neighbours yet when I left he tried to hold back the deposit saying that I'd removed his shrubs.... which were dead!! Luckily I had before and after photos and neighbours who stuck up for me so he didn't get anywhere.

As I said, I think it's a matter of a few making it difficult for the majority, but when you hear so many horror stories, I'd certainly think twice (at least!) before letting my property (although I actually live in a housing association property... lol)

We specified no students to each of the many agents we used but one lot found a way round it, by letting to the parents instead of the students. They were the best tenants we had. The place was as immaculate when they left as when they moved in. They were three medical students from Newcastle Uni doing their year in a hospital and we so regretted agreeing to let to someone else instead of waiting for them to come back from their summer break. We had experience of rogue landlords too. Also a very nice one who took a terms rent in advance plus deposit but agreed to give it all back when my daughter found after two nights in the shared house that she was terrified of one of the other flat mates. I hope it is all working out better now for your friend.

She was terrified of one of her housemates? Blimey!

It's nice to hear that students can be good tenants too. We only ever hear the bad stories, very rarely the good ones :)