A landlord has been left with a bill totalling thousands of pounds and unable to recoup a penny after her tenant deliberately left her property in squalor.

Photographs obtained by MailOnline reveal the filth left behind by a tenant at the home in Barking, Essex - with maggots engulfing the fridge and freezer, which the tenant left unplugged intentionally.

The homeowner was only able to evict the tenant after a seven-month battle - before learning he was a Romanian national with no UK assets.

She has now hit out at the lettings agency's for failing to carry out proper referencing checks and allowing the 'repeat offender' who had been evicted from other properties, to slip through the net.

Maggots can be seen engulfing the fridge and freezer, which the tenant left unplugged intentionally

Mounds of unopened debt letters were left piling up on the kitchen counters

LegalforLandlords has released sickening images of the filthy home to highlight the plight of landlords dealing with problem tenants.

Maggots can be seen engulfing the fridge and freezer, which the tenant left unplugged intentionally, while mounds of unopened debt letters pile up on kitchen counters.

It took seven months for the tenant to be evicted from the two-bedroom home in Barking, Essex, despite the appalling state of the property.

Rent arrears totaled £6,250, but because the tenant was an EU national with no UK assets, the landlord recouped nothing at all and has been left with a bill totalling thousands of pounds for cleaning, repairs and waste removal.

The landlord, who does not wish to be named, later discovered the tenant was a 'repeat offender', who left a trail of destruction in his wake.

While a letting agency dealt with tenant referencing checks on behalf of the landlord, she has questioned their thoroughness given that previous issues were not flagged.

LegalforLandlords represented the landlord in gaining possession of her property.

It took seven months for the tenant to be evicted from the two-bedroom home in Barking, Essex, despite the appalling state of the property

Sim Sekhon, Managing Director of LegalforLandlords, said: 'We've handled many cases where tenants have left properties in a state of squalor, but this is definitely one of the worst we've seen.

'Much of it was deliberate, with the intention of causing as much damage as possible, which made for a very frustrating wait for the landlord until the tenant could be evicted legally.

'It's a case that really sheds light on the scale of the problems caused by rogue tenants - we regularly hear about rogue landlords and the need to protect tenants, but these incidents aren't unusual and more should be done to make sure that landlords' rights are given equal consideration.

'Like many landlords forced to deal with something like this, I expect the owner of this home will go on to sell the property instead of continuing to rent - it can be a very stressful ordeal, particularly with such long delays, all the time knowing the damage is worsening, the repair bill edging upwards.

'It's extremely unfair that the landlord has been saddled with a hefty bill on top of the arrears, but I'm pleased we have been able to help her to regain control of her property.'