whether she will ever see her furniture again after the tenant absconded, taking it all with her.

Consequently, the landlord, Mrs. Constance Edness, had to break into the apartment that sits atop Billy Goat Hill, in Warwick, because the tenant also took the keys.

Inside she discovered electrical wiring hanging unsafely from a ceiling fan, and several empty rooms that were previously furnished.

Included among the many household items taken is a chandelier, a bedroom set, curtains and a centre table. On the porch a portion of the wall at the western edge of the property is missing and in need of repair.

A mattress, a dresser and an end table still remain in the master bedroom but half of the wall unit is missing.

In the other bedroom there is only a mattress, although the two bedroom apartment was fully furnished when the tenant moved in.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I came inside and found it like this,'' Mrs.

Edness said. "Where was all my stuff? There was no key so I had to break into my own place.'' Mrs. Edness said the lessee was evicted on March 30 after more than three years of problem-free tenancy.

"I rented it to her three years ago and had no problems,'' she explained.

"We got along well. She had three sons.

"At the time Crisson and Co. Real Estate were collecting the rent but I discovered it was four months in arrears.'' Mrs. Edness explained that the problems began when the tenant began receiving social assistance for the furnished two bedroom apartment. The rent was $1,350. In January and February she said the tenant withheld $700 -- $350 each month -- because part of the front wall on the property collapsed.

"I told her to give me the money and I would fix it. A mason later told me that the wall collapsed after she (the tenant) was moving a carpet outside.

She was the one responsible for the damage and yet she kept part of the rent back.'' Mrs. Edness said that her tenant had made some improvements to the property during her stay. This included some new kitchen cabinets and a tiled floor.

This week Mrs. Edness managed to contact the woman who promised to settle the matter soon.

But this has not helped to ease the pain or the inconvenience that ordeal has caused her.

"I'm a reasonable person,'' she continued. "I bought those things (furniture) from Creative Interiors and they cost me thousands of dollars. I have spoken to her and it seems like something is happening.

"But people can't be renting from other people and then leaving the apartment in this deplorable state when they leave.'' WHAT HAPPENED? -- Landlord Mrs. Constance Edness peers up at a broken electrical outlet after her tenant left the apartment taking most of the furniture.