An owner of Châtelet, in the province of Hainaut, had a very bad surprise. The tenant who occupied her property left behind a house in very poor condition. There are remedies in these cases, but it is sometimes complicated.
“I invite you to discover the state of the house”, launches Angelo in front of the door of his home in Châtelet. Inside, we discover damage, piles of waste, flies and an unpleasant smell.
When this owner rented his house two years ago, everything had been refurbished. “This is the state of the bathroom”, shows us with spite Angelo. “Door on the ground, broken flush, broken tap and then here we arrive in a small courtyard but I dare not open the door”he laments.
The tenant had not paid her rent for several months. Angelo had then sent the renunciation of the lease. On June 1, she therefore left the premises without warning by depositing the keys in the owner’s mailbox.
The vomit is soaked in the parquet
“The stairs are also in a sorry state. There was a banister that they stole or broke. And here it is for me where she relieved herself at night so as not to go downstairs to the toilet”, thinks the owner, taking a plastic bag. “The vomit is soaked in the floor”, he underlines while continuing the visit of the places. In the bedroom, the floor is indeed covered with dirt and food waste.
Angelo appealed to the justice of the peace. He knows that his insurance does not cover this type of damage. The situation is difficult to take. “The condition of the sockets, the doorframes… look at the condition of the door without a handle and without a key”, he breathes.
I haven’t slept since June 1
“I haven’t slept since June 1, I can’t sleep because I think and I tell myself how am I going to put a container. I’m going to have to go to the municipality to make requests” , confides the distraught owner.
A case far from isolated
A very far from isolated case. Françoise Bronchain, insurance broker, is constantly confronted with it. And unfortunately fire insurance does not cover this kind of damage. “To remedy this situation, there is either the possibility of taking out a legal protection guarantee but really specific for disputes related to the rental, or only to recover damages or recover damages and unpaid rents”, she explains.
It is rarer, but some insurance companies offer contracts to protect the owner. The conditions to qualify are unfortunately very strict.
For his part, Angelo awaits the passage of the expert. He will then restore the house before selling it.