Destruction, mould and poop: Windsor landlord dealing with big mess after tenant leaves

WARNING: This story contains an image of a floor and toilet covered in feces.

It was meant to be a home for his family to move into eventually, but renting it out to a tenant turned into a bit of a nightmare for landlord Asif Khan. 

"The bathroom had poop all over, in the tub, on the floor, everywhere. I mean, the toilet was blocked and then there's poop coming out everywhere," he told CBC News.

Khan entered the house just after the tenant and her children moved out at the beginning of September. 

The tenant and her children had just moved out after six months, he says, of not paying rent. It wasn't just the feces, he says — the basement was covered in mould, there were holes in the walls and the furniture was ruined too.

"I've seen a couple of shows where people... ruined the houses and then the crew comes in and does a cleaning job... I thought, OK, but I never expect that this would happen to me."

Khan is living in Mississauga with his wife right now for work, but he was planning to move into the house in Windsor eventually. 

Before renting to the tenant, he says he did a credit check, called their reference and even met with them in person.

"Maybe I should have done due diligence a lot more," he said.

"I just wanted it to, you know, rent it out, so that I'm not paying... [a] mortgage and rent here."

Vetting requires 'detective' skills

Rose Marie, with the Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario, says that screening a tenant isn't an easy process. 

"It's a large skill set. And when you get burned, then you realize how in depth you have to go and you practically have to be a detective when you're on vetting people," she said

She says it's good that Khan ran his own credit check. But there are other steps she suggests taking:

• Searching their name on Google and in court databases to see if they've ever had tenancy issues recorded in the past.
• Creating a questionnaire for the tenant to fill out. 
• Visit the current property the tenant is staying at, even if it is just to view it from the street to see if it's in order.
• Call not just their current landlord, but past ones as well.

Marie adds that there are property management services that will provide a vetting service for landlords who are seeking tenants as well as companies that will assess the veracity of documents that potential tenants provide.

"In the end, really what we want... is change of behaviour," she said.

"We want people to have housing and a roof over their head, but they have to be able to understand the contract and abide by the contract that they agree to."

Khan says insurance will cover some of the cost of furniture but the damage is still being worked out.

He's no longer sure if he wants to move in. After fixing it up, he says he may sell it or rent it out.