Out-of-control partygoers leave holes in walls after trashing rental home
A gang of youths has trashed a short-term rental house in a wild all-night party in Melbourne’s southeast.
The owners of the Carnegie property are devastated amid suggestions the police did little to help.
“It’s terrible, we’re just heartbroken,” Yuki Chan, a friend of the owner, said.
Valued at $1 million, the home costs just $400 to rent for the night.
But the cost of the damage is far more substantial, with the teenage partygoers leaving a damage bill in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Plaster was torn from the walls and carpets were ripped up, while remnants of hair, glass and illicit drugs were scattered throughout the home.
“Probably about $200,000 worth of damage. There’s a lot of damage in there,” a cleaner estimated.
The owners live overseas but their friends manage the home, renting it out regularly through Booking.com.
“I think it will take a month at least to complete all the cleaning and repair the wall,” Ms Chan said.
The party at the home began at 4pm on Saturday and continued into Sunday morning.
Neighbours say they repeatedly called police but they did not arrive until 9.30am.
Four teenage girls were arrested and were later released without charge.
“The police catch them and let them go. They are free,” Ms Chan said.
The guests also allegedly threatened neighbours who contacted police.
“They said to me they said, ‘Okay, you report? I will come back to break your house’,” one resident recalled.
“They said to me ‘remember I am coming back’.”
Residents now say they fear for their lives even if they ring triple-0.
