When Trevor McLean pictured his fiancee's dress on their wedding day, he never visualized it in a garbage dump.

But that's exactly where it's currently buried after his landlords cleared out his apartment, hauling the dress and dozens of other personal items to the Trail Rd. landfill.

"We were flabbergasted," said the 41-year-old former Parliament Hill security guard. "My fiancee has not stopped crying since this has happened."

But this week, the tears stopped after a Landlord and Tenant Board ruling ordered landlords Peter and Julie McDonald to reimburse the couple nearly $24,000.

It all began a few months ago, when McLean, 41, said he and his fiancee Sandy Schoenherr, 38 -- who are planning a June wedding -- were told they would have to move out of their rented home in Barrhaven by May 1 because the McDonald's were selling the property.

But on April 14, after having moved out most of the big furniture with a moving truck, Schoenherr returned to find the rest of their things had been cleared out.

She immediately called Peter and learned everything they had left behind had been hauled to the Trail Rd. landfill.

The couple made their way to the dump to salvage their stuff. McLean, a former Canadian military reservist, said staff at the dump helped locate their stuff, but they quickly found out it was not going to be good news.

"There was 2,000 lbs. of garbage dumped on top of it," he said. "We had a wedding dress and fake flower arrangements ... $6,000 worth of stuff for the wedding."

McLean said his military garb along with both of their wedding bands were also chucked.

McLean and Schoenherr contacted police, but were told it's a civil dispute between the tenant and landlord.

Last week, McLean and Schoenherr faced off against the McDonald's at a landlord and tenant board hearing, where adjudicator Emily Crocco summed the situation up by saying: "What a catastrophe this is."

The landlords had argued the couple abandoned the home, damaged the property and hadn't paid in full their previous two months rent.

While they weren't interested in speaking to the Sun about the ruling, when reached by phone previously, Peter said: "It (the house) was an absolute disaster.

"Everything was gone ... no couch, no nothing. Just garbage. It was a dump ... Only thing that was left was junk."

But Crocco didn't see it that way. This week she ruled the landlords went afoul of the Tenant Act in six different ways and ordered them to reimburse McLean and Schoenherr for their belongings to the tune of $23,829 (that figure takes into account $500 McLean and Schoenherr were found to owe their landlord in unpaid rent).

The McDonald's were given 24 hours to pay the sum in full, after which interest on the amount owing will be calculated at 2% annually.

4,000 CASES A YEAR

John Dickie, an Ottawa-based lawyer specializing in residential landlord and tenant law said cases like this are "one case in 250."

But Dickie, who's also the chairman of Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization, said out of the nearly 130,000 rental units in the city, there are usually 80 landlord tenant cases with the board every week or around 4,000 a year.

He said generally cases end with an order for either party to fulfil the request after a tribunal ­-- and there is also an appeals process if the parties are not satisfied with the ruling.

When it comes to rental agreements, Dickie said, there are few things tenants should be on lookout for.

"Tenants should keep their eyes out for ads that look scammy," he said. "It happens around this time of year; students moving out. Trick there is to watch if the landlord showing the unit is actually able to access it."

He added, people should be suspicious of landlords who want cash and won't take certified cheques.

Dickie said despite Ontario law heavily favouring tenants, landlords can also be put out.

"Just because a lease comes to an end doesn't mean tenant has to move out," he explained. "The tenancy renews unless the landlord goes to the board with grounds to terminate the agreement."

Quick tips for those thinking about renting:

Bring paperwork: completed application, written references and a current copy of your credit report

Inspect the unit: Do a walk-through and record any existing damage

Review lease: carefully review all the conditions and fine print before signing

Make a copy: keep any copies of agreements and write down oral agreements

Purchase renter's insurance: Usually $350 for a $50,000 policy and covers any damages or stolen items

Understand your privacy rights: landlord must give tenant 24 hours written notice in most cases

Demand repairs: Most landlords are required to offer their tenants livable premises

Three simple rules every tenant should follow:

Pay the rent on time Don't disturb the people around you Don't destroy the place

The five most common disputes in Ottawa, according to Dickie:

Tenants aren't paying rent Tenants are disturbing their neighbours Landlords aren't doing repairs Landlords claiming tenants have damaged premises Tenants are paying rent late

Twitter: @keaton_robbins