Family home desecrated, horse graveyard uncovered

A video capture from Mr Love''s property. 179773_01

By Rowan Forster

A Nar Nar Goon landlord has shamed the “vile” tenants who allegedly dealt more than $60,000 dollars’ worth of damage to his family home, leaving behind a graveyard of decomposing horses.Troy Love has contacted the RSPCA and VCAT due to the desecration of his property and suspected animal cruelty, but he claims the culprits have so far gone unpunished.
Footage captured by Mr Love shows mountains of rotting garbage, soiled carpets, charred walls and flooding inside the Browning Road home.
He told the Gazette of his ordeal, hoping to prevent other homeowners from falling victim to the “nightmare” tenants.
“There was faeces and urine everywhere, huge piles of rubbish, mould and the floors were all destroyed,” he said.
“All of the rural fencing has been eaten by the horses due to the fact they weren’t being fed.
“When we looked further, we found decomposing horse corpses and seven abandoned, malnourished cats.”
The experience has deterred Mr Love from wanting to lease the property in the future – fearing the same thing will happen again.
The landlord and his family were leasing the family home while they were living in Queensland.
Upon returning to Melbourne, they discovered their pride and joy had been violated.
“The state of the house was absolutely horrific,” Mr Love said.
In a cruel twist of the knife, Mr Love’s insurers have refused to cover the repairs – citing the damage as “wear and tear”.
Under the insurance clause, the property is covered for malicious damage, but not damage deemed neglectful.
“Not many people have a spare $60,000 to spend when their house is destroyed,” he said.
“If anything comes of this, we want people to realise that they aren’t necessarily protected by insurance.”
Mr Love has implored the Victorian Government to consider an urgent review of tenancy laws.
“There needs to be more rights for landlords and property owners to take action when they’re left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket,” he said.
A neighbour who lived near the Browning Road property has since spoken out about the problematic tenants.
She recalled witnessing horses starving and dying in paddocks because they were starved.
“They would lie in the paddocks for days before they removed them,” the resident, who did not want to be identified, said.
“The poor animals lived in squalor because the humans were cave men.
“I have reported these people to RSPCA at least three times a year since they moved in.”
The tenants are believed to have moved into another property, not far from Nar Nar Goon.
According to Mr Love, they are refusing to answer his calls.RSPCA Victoria Inspector Graham Hambridge confirmed the property had been attended by authorities on several occasions due to community reports of concern for animal welfare.”“Earlier this month, an inspector attended the property in response to a report of concern for the welfare of cats at the vacated property,” he said.
“One cat and three kittens have been taken into RSPCA Victoria’s care.
“Inspectors confirmed that deceased horses on the property had been humanely euthanised by a veterinarian.
“”RSPCA Victoria can (also) confirm that inspectors attended a property in Nar Nar Goon on several occasions between 2015 and 2017.”