Landlord denied $25,000 damage payout after failing to prove prior condition

A landlord’s $25,000 bid for compensation has gone up in smoke after a tribunal found a major flaw in the case — they couldn’t prove the tenant was the one who contaminated the property. A Queensland appeal tribunal knocked back a bid to revive claims for more than $16,000 in remediation and thousands more in damage and replacement costs, despite evidence of drug use inside the rental. The case centred on a rental that ended in chaos, with syringes and glass pipes allegedly left behind and testing later confirming methylamphetamine contamination. But that still wasn’t enough to make the tenant pay. The landlord couldn’t prive that the contamination existed prior to the tenancy. Picture: Milos Dimic The landlords chased a long list of claims after the tenancy ended, including meth testing, cleanup costs, carpet replacement, blinds, locks, smoke alarms, rubbish removal, lawn maintenance, appliances and more than $7000 in rent arrears. The overall claim topped the tribunal’s limit and was capped at $25,000. They did get some money. The original tribunal awarded $9552.39 for rent arrears and several smaller items. But the big-ticket claim — the meth bill — failed after the tribunal fou...