Bedroom floors were smeared with human and dog faeces at a filthy rental home in Richmond, near Nelson. Child, Youth and Family has since apologised for its poor assessment of family living there.

A landlord whose family's rental property in Richmond, near Nelson was turned into a "filth pile" by its tenants has questioned why Child, Youth and Family didn't intervene to protect the children living there.



Nelson woman Sinead Ogilvie called CYF concerned about the nine-year-old boy and six-year-old girl's wellbeing when she saw dogs living in their own excrement in the backyard.



She only discovered the true extent of the family's situation on Tuesday when they moved out of the house owing 10 weeks' rent.



"The smell was just awful," she said. "It smelled like human and dog s... and cigarette smoke."



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Faeces were smeared on the floor and walls. A pair of children's pyjamas in the hallway had "mouldy poo" in them.

1 of 6 Sinead Ogilvie Ogilvie estimated over a hundred rubbish bags were piled up outside the property. 2 of 6 Sinead Ogilvie Rubbish bags had been chewed open by rats and left to rot. 3 of 6 Sinead Ogilvie Ogilvie suspects damage to the house was caused by the male tenant living there. The grandmother said her grandchild's mother had several violent partners. 4 of 6 Sinead Ogilvie The yard was filled with mouldy furniture and broken household appliances. 5 of 6 Sinead Ogilvie Cigarette butts were found all throughout the property. Old flatmates said the couple would smoke methamphetamine inside the house. 6 of 6 SINEAD OGILVIE Floors and walls were smeared with human faeces. This was one of the bedrooms.

Soiled nappies crawled with maggots. Masses of urine-soaked clothes sat on the laundry floor.

Every surface in the kitchen was sticky and covered with flies and mouse droppings. A "rancid" pot of meat stew was left on the stove.

Drug paraphernalia was found in the cupboards alongside kids' clothes and toys.

Outside, more than one hundred rubbish bags spilled over the pavement. The yard was flooded with sewage from a backed-up toilet.

"The cleanest thing in the house was the toilet brush because they had obviously never used it," Ogilvie said.

Ogilvie had to rip up the carpets and plans to test the house for methamphetamine contamination.

She suspected two broken doors and multiple holes in the wall were caused by the mother's live-in boyfriend.

Two weeks ago she asked the couple to tidy up the property. Instead, they threatened to "rape me and kill me and burn the house down," she said.

Another concerned family member also asked the tenants to clean up but was unaware how unsanitary their living conditions truly were.

"He was always asking her if there was anything he could do. The only reason he let them stay was because he felt sorry for the two kids."

When Ogilvie contacted CYF she was told the family's situation didn't require urgent attention because their environment "wasn't life threatening".

"I said [to CYF] I would never forgive myself if something happened to those kids and their health."

She later found children's medications in the house.

"Neglect is just the tip of the iceberg sometimes. How many times will we ignore the warning signs? How many times does this escalate before it's too late?"

CYF operations manager upper south Helen Aiken said the agency took Ogilvie's concerns seriously and were already involved with the family.

It was working with other agencies to "assess the children's needs and find a solution to the issues they face," she said.

"The children's welfare is the first and paramount consideration."

The grandmother of one of the children said CYF workers told her they were no longer involved with the family.

She called CYF several times over the last two years worried about the impact of a dirty home and string of violent boyfriends on her grandchild but said she was "fobbed off".

"They said my concerns were not high priority and not abuse. It was a closed case, they didn't want to know.

"The people at the top said 'you have to wait for improvement' but I'm over it. Those kids should not be living like that."

After battling with the children's mother for several years, the grandmother said she "cracked" and cut ties.

"When I first met this woman, I used to go around and take truckloads to the dump and it never got better.

"I gave and gave to make their lives nicer, sheets and blankets for the kids, but where are they now? Rotting in a skip.

"It's getting too late for my grand[child] now. [They are] already going to have the characteristics and the lifestyle traits of [the] mother."