We used to own quite a large house and we blocked off a part of the house and rented it out as a one-bedroom apartment.

We had a young couple for a few years and they were lovely. They fixed anything that went wrong and always paid their rent on time.

They eventually moved out and we struggled to find someone decent to rent the place. We finally gave a young guy a chance. He was okay in the beginning and he seemed pretty decent. After a while he lost his job and found another a few weeks later. However he did not keep this job either; he kept changing jobs and this is where the trouble started.

Because he kept changing jobs, he was 3 months behind in rent and he kept making excuses. Then his entire family (2 parents and sister) pitch up out of the blue from Mozambique. They are all staying in this small apartment, without permission, and they are constantly using power and water. They stayed an entire month, making promises to pay the outstanding rent, etc.

One morning very early, I heard some noise outside and watched the tenant and his family carry a bunch of stuff up to his car and drive off. I hurried to tell my parents but by then they were gone.

We were never able to get hold of him again; they completely disappeared. He had done a lot of damage to the apartment, including breaking off both the shower taps and just using a plastic pipe to direct the water into the drain. My parents got an enormous water bill that month, because it was constantly running down the drain.

All in all this, person owed my parents thousands. Renters are mostly just a headache.