Landlord Gets Satisfying Revenge After Tenants Turn His House To A Pigsty

Mason Zimmer | November 14, 2024 6:48 pm

No matter how diligent people try to be in vetting who they will work and live with, the truth is that nobody can truly prepare for everything. So whether it's by a boss, a friend, a lover, or a landlord, everybody will be taken advantage of at some point.

But in one landlord's case, that didn't mean he had to take it lying down when his tenants abused their living situation as much as they could. And he had quite the ingenious way to get back at them.

Meet Thomas Ravaux

Thomas Ravaux crouching with dog while hunting
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook

Thomas Ravaux owns and rents out some houses in France.

According to Snopes, at least one of them can be found in the small town of Rozoy-sur-Serre, which is about 134 miles northeast of Paris.

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He never would've imagined

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Thomas Ravaux crouching above spring dug into steep yard
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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In June of 2018, Ravaux made a Facebook post that chronicled how a family with three children had treated the home in the time they had stayed there.

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As he told it, they had been living there for 14 months by the time he caught a glimpse of the interior.

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A free ride

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Thomas Ravaux crouching with dog while hunting in snow
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Ravaux also claimed in his Facebook post that his tenants never paid rent for any of those 14 months and that they left without notice.

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It's unclear how they were able to get away with never paying him, but Ravaux would soon learn that this was the least of his concerns.

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Piles and piles of trash

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pile of trash next to garbage bin
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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When Ravaux toured the house after the family had left, he discovered just how they had been living over the course of those 14 months.

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He was confronted by this massive pile of trash, but it was just the beginning.

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Boxes, boxes everywhere

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Pile of Boxes next to cabinets
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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As Ravaux surveyed the damage his tenants had done, he found that some rooms were covered in piles of boxes and seemingly random debris.

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So when he revealed all of this in his post from June 1, 2018, it was hardly surprising that he reported feeling angry.

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Not a clean room in the place

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bathroom with messy floor and sink
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Although it's clear that not every room was literally covered in trash, Ravaux's post nonetheless made it obvious that there wasn't a single room the family had bothered to clean.

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And in cases like this bathroom, the clutter made it harder to use each room for its intended purpose. Note the sink full of empty containers.

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A truly diverse mess

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soil bed next to easel
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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As staggering as the high concentration of clutter is to see, it wasn't the only way that Ravaux's tenants made an utter mess of his house.

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For instance, here is a soil planter that was presumably going to be used for a gardening project. However, the only purpose it ended up serving was to lay indoors and spread dirt all over the floor.

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What did they actually take with them?

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ironing board and miniature bow lying on floor
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Perhaps the most puzzling discovery for Ravaux concerned the number of toys and furniture pieces his former tenants left behind.

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After all, it's hard not to wonder why the family considered them worth buying but not worth using or bringing with them.

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A disgusting display

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couch with mold or stains
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Of course, it was easier to see why some furniture pieces were left behind than others. For instance, this couch seems outright hazardous.

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It's hard to tell from this photo whether it's covered in mold or some other mysterious stains, but sitting in it doesn't seem worth the risk.

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They needed so many more garbage bags

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garbage bags next to clumps of dirt
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Despite the fact that the house looks like the family was trying to make as big of a mess as possible, it seems they did actually use garbage bags for their trash at some point.

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However, that apparently didn't mean they actually took out the trash. And since there were no reports of them having pets, that waste on the floor is likely more soil from their inexplicable planters.

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Indeed, that wasn't the only one

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soil bed sitting on floor
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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In addition to his collection of photos of his tenants' aftermath, Ravaux also posted two videos that showed the scope of the damage.

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And in one of them, he revealed that the family had apparently left more than one of these planters lying around and unused. Other than making everything messier, what was the point?

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Another incomplete project

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broken cabinets laying on floor amid clumps of dirt
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Although it's unclear what happened to the family's gardening plans, those weren't all they had left abandoned on Ravaux's floor.

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From the looks of things, the tenants had also tried to build this cabinet only to give up and leave it in pieces among the dirt from their other unfulfilled ambitions.

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The most logical explanation

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pile of trash, clothes filling room near machine
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Based on how many unused furniture pieces, abandoned toys and random boxes seemed to clutter up the floors, it was hard not to assume that Ravaux's former tenants were hoarders.

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However, that makes it puzzling as to why they suddenly left everything behind.

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No matter what, this was a nightmare

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chair with chain attached to it amid garbage
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Whether the tenants could see that Ravaux was having enough of them or they realized they were hoarding and wanted a fresh start, they still showed an appalling lack of consideration by leaving this all for him to clean up.

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And that's especially true if Ravaux is accurate in describing them as never paying rent.

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No place for a child, let alone three

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Stuffed animals and boxes full of magazines
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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In addition to his anger at the way his former tenants had treated him, Ravaux's post also expressed disgust at the fact that they were subjecting three children to this lifestyle.

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Although these pictures showed that they must have had plenty of toys to play with, these obviously aren't all that's needed for a stable, healthy environment.

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A blatant lack of respect

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holes punched through wall
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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As if the mess wasn't enough evidence that Ravaux's former tenants had no respect whatsoever for the home they were renting, he also revealed this large hole in one of the walls.

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It's unclear how it happened or who did it, but it nonetheless seems like someone living here had a habit of punching this wall when they became angry.

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Some deep cleaning was required

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mystery stains on walls and ceiling
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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The more Ravaux toured his property, the clearer it became that he would need to spend a long time cleaning it out before it could be fit for human habitation again.

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Not only because the tenants' clutter made it hard not to trip after every step, but mysterious stains like these made it hard to tell what had been left to fester here.

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Their final insult

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trash toys and boxes strewn throughout room
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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While most of what enraged Ravaux about the state of his property is pretty obvious, there was one last inconsiderate move his former tenants made before they suddenly left.

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As he wrote in his Facebook post, they had also left a significant amount of food in the refrigerator, which had simply been left to rot by the time Ravaux realized they had moved out.

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A scorned man lashes out

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dump truck idling in front of house
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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After he showed his Facebook followers the extent of the damage his former tenants left behind, Ravaux ended his post by saying, "Shame on you! Good luck to your new owner, who rents you a house in Brunehamel!"

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And if that seems like an oddly polite sendoff for a man who had been so deeply affronted by the family, Ravaux soon revealed this wasn't his final word on the matter.

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Some heavy-duty revenge

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dump truck full of trash idling
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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Four days after his initial post, Ravaux uploaded a follow-up video that revealed he knew where exactly in Brunehamel his former tenants were staying.

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And he and his crew would have a big surprise in store for them when they got there.

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Returning to sender

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dump truck dropping stuff in front of house
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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In that four days, Ravaux and his team had apparently managed to clear all the clutter out of his house and loaded in this dump truck.

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And considering that the first things to be dumped out were large appliances like washers and dryers, Ravaux clearly had to rent a massive truck for the job.

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Even dumping it was an ordeal

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man throwing stool towards house
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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It doesn't take long in Ravaux's video before his revenge plan is clear. Since the family unceremoniously left all this stuff at his house, he was going to dump it all at their new one.

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But anyone expecting it all to fall out at once underestimates just how much those tenants left behind.

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Starting and stopping

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dump truck releasing load in front of house slowly
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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Throughout the short video, Ravaux's dump truck tries to release its load three times, with each attempt producing loud, banging results.

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The appliances fell hard but didn't take up much of the load.

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So much furniture

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dump truck releasing load in front of house and awaiting gravity
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
Thomas Ravaux/facebook
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As the truck further lifted its back, more pieces of furniture spilled out loudly onto the curb.

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But there was so much packed into the truck that the bulk of the load got stuck on the way down.

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Finally, progress

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dump truck releasing slow-moving load in front of house
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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After a bit of waiting for gravity to work its magic, however, the load slowly toppled out of the dump truck.

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One of the items that seemed to be holding the load back until it finally fell was the potentially moldy couch Ravaux showed earlier.

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Slow enough to be satisfying

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dump truck finally releasing load in front of house
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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Once the couch tumbled off the truck and into the foreground, the rest of the load slowly and noisily followed.

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The broken cabinets Ravaux showed earlier, and the other loose pallets of wood shifted as gravity sent the load spilling out into the street.

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At long last, it was almost over

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dump truck up-ending load in front of house
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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About a minute into Ravaux's video, enough clutter had finally spilled out into the street that it was possible to see the bottom of the truck's bed.

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But while the truck had tilted the bed as far as it could go, a large clump of debris was still hanging onto it because the pile underneath it had simply grown that tall.

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A little adjustment

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dump truck moving forward after releasing load
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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So after the truck's driver dumped the load as far as they could, they drove it forward a little to let the rest of the debris fall out.

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Ironically, Ravaux's revenge required more care than the people he was getting back at had ever shown.

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The revenge is complete

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dump truck moving away from dropped trash
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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Once the truck had moved forward far enough, the rest of the load finally dropped out of its bed and gathered in a pile.

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One way or another, Ravaux wouldn't let them ignore the mess they made.

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A satisfying conclusion

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pile of trash in front of house
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
Thomas Ravaux/Facebook
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By all accounts, Ravaux's plan worked exactly as he intended.

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Because according to Snopes, his former tenants reportedly had to clean up this huge mess all on their own. Presumably, their new landlord wasn't about to give them anywhere near as many chances as Ravaux had.