A TENANT WALKED OUT AND LEFT A MESS: HOW THIS LANDLORD GOT COVERED

Patrick Rankin
Jul 12, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Jul 14, 2025

It started with silence.

The rent hadn’t come in. The phone calls went unanswered. The front curtains were shut, and the mailbox overflowed. When our Property Manager arrived, there was no response and no sign of the tenant.

From experience, we knew what this meant: an abandonment. And from that moment, the clock started ticking—not just to protect the property, but to recover what was owed. Fortunately, the landlord had Real Landlord Insurance, and our process ensured everything was handled cleanly and efficiently.

STEP 1: CONFIRMING ABANDONMENT THROUGH THE TRIBUNAL

Even when it looks obvious that a tenant has left, landlords can’t just take the property back. The correct legal process must be followed.

We:

Issued 48 hours’ written notice for an inspection
Entered the property after the notice period to assess the situation
Found the home vacant, with uncollected mail and no sign of occupancy
Collected photographic evidence of the interior and exterior
Filed a Tenancy Tribunal application under Section 61 of the Residential Tenancies Act to confirm abandonment and authorise disposal of goods

A little over a week later, the Tribunal issued an order terminating the tenancy and granting disposal rights.

STEP 2: CLEANING, DISPOSAL & BOND REIMBURSEMENT

The tenants had left:

Two couches
A broken fridge
Bags of household rubbish
Mouldy food in the pantry
Filthy floors and stained carpets in two rooms

We:

Engaged a professional cleaner and removal company
Documented all items with photos, invoices, and disposal records
Cleared and cleaned the property so it could be presented and re-let
Successfully claimed back the bond, using the tribunal order and cleaning receipts

Total cleaning and removal cost: $880

Bond refunded fully, which meant these costs were reimbursed without dipping into the landlord’s pocket.

STEP 3: CALCULATING LOSS OF RENT

Rent had stopped three weeks earlier.

From the date of non-payment to the date the property was officially cleared and re-let, the loss totaled 4.5 weeks’ rent (at $610/week, that’s $2,745).

STEP 4: MAKING THE INSURANCE CLAIM WITH REAL LANDLORD INSURANCE

With Real Landlord Insurance, we found multiple benefits:

Single-event treatment: Cleaning, disposal, and loss of rent were all treated as one event — avoiding multiple excesses that other providers might charge
Excess equal to one week’s rent ($610), which meant the total payout was calculated accordingly

We submitted:

The Tenancy Agreement
The Tribal Order confirming abandonment and disposal rights
Cleaning and removal invoices ($880)
Before-and-after photos
Proof of rent arrears ($2,745)
A detailed timeline and communications log

Within 14 days, Real Landlord approved the claim:

Total loss/invoice: $3,625
Less one-week rent excess: –$610
Net payout: $3,015

HOW GOOD NEIGHBOURS MADE IT HAPPEN

Our experience and processes ensured:

Abandonment was legally confirmed within a week
Full bond was reclaimed for cleaning and preparation
Insurance covered nearly all costs—cleaning, loss of rent—minus the single excess
Property was back on the market within three weeks

WHY THIS MATTERS

When abandonment occurs:

Delaying legal steps costs time and money
Bond, cleaning, and rent lost add up—but can be recovered
Without smart insurance, each aspect may trigger a new excess
With Real Landlord, the entire event is treated as one claim, protecting landlords from excess stacking