Thomas Markel Jr's landlord said he was evicted for nonpayment of rent and left the home in shambles
Meghan Markle's brother has clapped back at his disgruntled landlord, branding claims he was a nightmare tenant 'rude' and 'ridiculous'.
Paul Walter told DailyMailTV that Tom Markle Jr left the home he was apparently evicted from in a 'disgusting' state that will cost the landlord $4,500 to repair.
Walter shared photos of the bungalow that he took during the inspection after Markle, 52, and his fianceé Darlene Blount, 37, moved out.
He detailed a litany of issues including a burned stove, ruined grass, holes in the wall, urine stained walls and says he left a rotting bagel and other food under the oven where it lay for months.
But defending himself. Markle hit back and provided his own selection of photos showing he in fact left the property in Grants Pass, Oregon in pristine condition.
'Paul Walter is rude, childish and unreasonable, he needs to take a look at himself before tearing other people down,' Markle said.
'His claims are ridiculous, we left that place in great shape and went out of our way to make sure there wasn't any issues because we know what he's like.
'And then he goes to the media nit-picking over tiny things, it's childish behavior designed to make me look bad.'
Markle has now hit back at his landlord by providing his own photos to DailyMailTV, which show the home's kitchen and various other rooms in pristine condition
The kitchen appears spotless with clean counter tops and no trace of the rotting food on the floor in the photos Markle took before moving out
The bathroom in the Grant Pass, Oregon, bungalow appears sanitary and in clean condition. Markle is calling his landlord's claims 'rude' and 'ridiculous'
Markle says Walter tried to illegally evict him when a health condition he suffered last year meant he couldn't work and he got behind on his rent.
Landlord Paul Walter said Markle and his fiancée Darlene Blount left $4,500 in damages to the home when they were evicted
'I paid him some money in January as he requested but after that he just got really really annoyed and changed completely,' Markle said.
'He served me with a 30-60 eviction notice. He said you can't live there without a job, but he can't just do that, tenants have rights.'
Markle says he got an attorney and they eventually settled out of court, but, he claims, Walter wasn't happy with the end result.
'From my lawyer to their lawyer they lost the case and that's why Paul is annoyed, I had to pay $500 by April 5 and agreed to leave the property, which I did.
'That was the end of the discussion, there was no eviction, no nothing.
'Then he goes off and does this big story about how I owe him $4,500, I'm a freeloader, this and that. He shouldn't have signed the agreement if he wasn't happy with it.'
In photos Markle provided, the house looks to have been left in a clean and tidy condition.
The kitchen appears spotless with clean counter tops and no trace of discarded food on the floor.
Markle says the burn rings on the stove are in fact rust that was impossible to scrub away and claims the rotten food in the image Walter gave to DailyMailTV was material that had lodged behind the cooker over years.
'He dragged out all that stuff to make it look bad, to make me look bad,' he said.
'This is stuff that had fallen down the back of the oven over years, there's even dog chews from the previous tenant in the photo.
'None of that was there or visible when we left. He can't drag it all out and claim I left a mess.'
The 52-year-old was accused of failing to pay three months of rent on the bungalow (pictured) in Grants Pass, Oregon. The market rate for the property is $1,500 a month meaning that Markle had allegedly owed $4,500
Walter's photos show the couple left the home with rotting food left under the oven, but Markle claims Walter 'dragged out all that stuff to make it look bad, to make me look bad. This is stuff that had fallen down the back of the oven over years'
One wall was left with a hole in it, but Markle blames Walter for that because he says there was no door stopper, which in effect caused the door handle to hit the wall
The oven door of the bungalow was left with caked in brown stains in Walter's photo, but Markle says this is typical 'wear and tear' that landlords should expect
The stove was burned with black and brown marks when Markle and Blount were allegedly evicted. Markle says the burn rings on the stove are in fact rust that was impossible to scrub
Markle says a hole in the wall Walter had pointed out was
