Landlady's heartbreak over 'flat of shame'
Hellish tenants blighted the life of a Lincoln landlady when they left one of her houses in a squalid and uninhabitable state.
Pauline Davison (63) experienced similar heartbreak two years ago, when one of her flats in the city's Craven Street was trashed and used as a drug den.
D Davison Properties was first made aware of the disgusting state of the Monks Road house when they went in to perform some minor repairs requested by housing standards officers.
Police are investigating the damage done and two break-ins that occurred after the original tenants left.
Mrs Davison said: "I can't believe that somebody would leave a property in this state.
"It's going to take months to fix.
"We came back today after we boarded it up and somebody has broken in again through a window upstairs.
"It is just heart-breaking."
For more on the state the property was left in, see Thursday's Echo.













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by Monksmoll, Monks Road
Saturday, January 17 2009, 1:02PM
“Monks Road Resident, I like the cut of your jib, it's nice to know there are at least two of us singing from the same song-sheet. Big up for the Dog and Bone.”
by Monks Road Resident, Monks Road
Saturday, January 17 2009, 8:21AM
“Funny isn't it, that the only people prepared to do down the Monks Road area are those who DON'T live here.
This area has MASSIVE potential which one day all you rather stupid Lincolners will suddenly realise when you get stop repeating the worn out mantra about Monks Road being a dump.
If this was ANY other English city the houses around the arboretum would be among the most expensive in the city. Not the cheapest!
I'm kind of happy yo all do the place down, it meant I could buy a HUGE Victorian house for less than the price of a 3 bed semi in a brain-dead estate in other parts of town.
Those of us who do live here and have even, like me gone as far as to buy a house here, know that it is a thriving and strong community.
We have the advantages of a lovely Victorian park outside our windows, views of the Cathedral and a 10 minute walk to the mainline railway station or Laura Ashley for some sophisticated shopping.
We are not all druggies down Monks Road. Sure, the area is Lincoln's Bohemia, but I don't have a problem with that. I like the alternative, artistic vibe.
We have one of Lincoln's best locals, in the Dog and Bone and we're literally on the Cathedral Quarter's doorstep.
When I came to Lincoln I looked in the West End (as that was the area everyone said was 'nice') and I looked at Monks Road. I couldn't see a lot of difference in the areas except that the West End is far denser and was then far more expensive too.
Sure, it's an inner city area with some crime problems, but believe it or not it's actually very safe to walk the streets here.
So give up on this Monks Road is a dump nonsense and come and see for yourself.
And once we have flushed out the last of the slum landlords like Davison the area will improve even more!”
by Monks Road Resident, Monks Road
Saturday, January 17 2009, 8:10AM
“Let's get this story straight.
The house was rented to people with health and mental health issues.
The landlady has been collecting a tidy sum of money direct from the state for housing these unfortunates.
During the tenancy she's done as little as possible to maintain he property. The property got so bad that nobody in their right mind would have lived in it. So no doubt Ms Davison was happy to have someone NOT in their right mind to live there and enrich her further.
While dirt and squalor are not nice (and I watched the amazing amount of junk that was cleared out of this house fill skip after skip yesterday) they don't really damage the fabric of the building.
However, the blocked gutters, missing windows, missing roof tiles and poor general state of repair will degrade a property significantly, especially if left for a long time.
So why, if she is so concerned about her property, is she happy to leave a property in a state of near collapse until we, the neighbours, complain so much the council get involved (at which point the landlady 'suddenly' discovers the mess).
Please, Echo news journalists, do you homework next time and get the real and full story out there.”
by The real Nicholas van Hoogstraten, Sussex & Brighton
Thursday, January 15 2009, 6:13PM
“These minnows of landlords. They shouldn`t mess with the big boys. Know what I mean. I think I might buy a few thousand houses in Lincoln. Watch out here I come.”
by Nicholas van Hoogstraten, Hamilton Palace
Thursday, January 15 2009, 5:46PM
“Talk about Rackmanism! It's as we were then 40 years down the line.”