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Slideshow: Sickened at state of Headingley student flat
A shocked father said he felt physically sick when he saw the filthy state of a Headingley student house it cost thousands to rent.
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David Griffiths, dad of Leeds University student Alun, said: "I couldn't believe what I had walked into. The place was unfit for human habitation. It made me so sick to see it I contacted environmental health."
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The students moved in to Balbec Avenue, Headingley, on Monday and claimed they found:
* Blood-spattered chopping boards in the kitchen;
* Blood dripping from mouldy red meat in the fridge;
* Food waste on the kitchen floor;
* Piles of rubbish forced into the space under the stairs;
* A lounge carpet so dirty their feet stuck to it;
* Thick mould on the walls in the downstairs bedroom;
* Mould over bathroom walls;
* Evidence of hard drug use in the back garden.
The landlord is Parklane, a company which has offices in both Headingley and Chapel Allerton.
Spokeswoman Lindsay Stafford said the previous tenants had been in the house until Sunday, and the company had been unable to inspect it before then.
Mr Griffiths said that before his son and six flatmates could move in, they each had to put up a 300 bond and three months rent.
He added: "The total rent they had up front was over 5,600. Altogether they've had over 7,700. For that you expect the place to be right, so what they got was outrageous."
Alun Griffiths, a neuro-science student, said the house was fine when he and his friends saw it in March. "If it hadn't we wouldn't have taken it. I can't understand what has happened since then. It was absolutely disgusting."
Ms Stafford said that Parklane staff carried out a full inventory and inspection of the house on Monday.
"That is standard procedure," she said. "All maintenance issues were identified and a deep clean was carried out on the property between 5.30pm and 9.30pm that evening. A second clean was carried out the following morning to ensure the property was presented to a high standard."
The mould was caused by the previous students drying clothes without opening windows, and had not been reported to Parklane, Ms Stafford added.
She said: "Parklane is a reputable lettings agency but unfortunately tenants don't always leave the property in a good condition when they move out."
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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