What tenants leave - a stuffed beaver, 23-year-old food, pet ashes...

You might not want to read this as you’re tucking into an early Easter egg, but an interiors firm has compiled a list of some of the most unusual things left behind by private tenants checking out. 

No fewer than 89 per cent of agents and landlords polled by interiors specialist Hillarys said tenants ‘always’ leave something unwanted behind. The majority also said something ‘unsavoury’ was left, with over half claiming that tenants had left rooms with damage and 72 per cent stating their properties had been left in an unhygienic or dirty state. 

A total of 2,843 were polled, all of which had been letting out at least one property for the past three years to private renters.

First of all, respondents were asked, “How often do tenants leave items behind in your property?” to which 89 per cent stated ex-tenants ‘always’ leave something behind after vacating the premises.  

Researchers asked those taking part “Have any ex-tenants ever left any part of your property damaged upon departure?” with 57 per cent stating this had occurred in the past. 

Respondents were then asked “Have any previous tenants left your property in an unhygienic or dirty state?” with almost three quarters, 72 per cent, confessing this had happened at least once in the past.

Next, agents and landlords were asked by researchers to disclose the ‘weirdest or most disgusting’ items or sights they’d witnessed in one of their properties after an ex-tenant had moved out. The most bizarre responses include:

-  An urn full of pet ashes

- A collection of Betamax cassettes in the garden shed

- A taxidermy beaver

- 16 iPhone 4 boxes but no handsets

- A collection of ‘classic car’ magazines hidden behind the toilet

- A cupboard full of tinned food that expired in 1994

- A window-sill containing more than 50 types of cactus plants  

- A jewellery box full of human nail clippings

Finally, agents landlords were asked if they’d ever had to pay for a professional clean after one of their tenants had moved out, to which 59 per cent stated they had.