Pier Marco Tacca/Getty ImagesWho could have imagined that Courtney Love might not be a model tenant?!
The Hole frontwoman is facing eviction from the Manhattan townhouse she leased earlier this year after, according to the building's owner, failing to pay the rent and—yes, there's an and—both damaging the property and altering the interior design without permission, according to a spokesman for the owner's legal camp.
It apparently all started with the fire...
A small fire broke out in a fourth-floor bedroom of the West 10th Street building back in June, most likely started by a candle that got too close to a curtain, according to the New York Fire Department.
A 911 call was made from the residence at 1:52 a.m. and fire officials said there was a man at home with Love when she discovered the blaze.
A statement obtained by E! News from the building owner's attorney, Norman Flitt, says that the fire destroyed the curtains and bed linens in the room. "The owner has expressed deep concern over burn marks in the residence, and the possibility that the entire structure could have caught fire," read the statement.
Meanwhile, the owner, Astor Street Partners has started civil proceedings to go after $54,000 in back rent that Love supposedly owes.
"The one-year lease for the 1827 townhouse prohibits the tenant from making any alterations to the premises without owner's express written consent, and requires any changes to be restored prior to the end of the lease," the statement continued. "Annual rent for the property is $324,000, payable in two six-month installments."
The three-bedroom, five-bathroom home is a "historic landmark" that was completely renovated and featured in a 12-page spread in Elle Décor, the statement continued, noting that Astor Street Partners has estimated it will cost upward of $100,000 and take at least 12 weeks to restore the house to its original condition.
So what did Love do to the place exactly?
Aside from the fire damage, she is said to have wallpapered and repainted "significant portions of the interior," which featured vintage wall coverings and glazed hand-brushed walls.
"This is an extraordinary and meticulously designed home, and the lease very clearly protected it from alteration by the tenant," the owner says. "The damage demonstrates enormous disregard for the lease agreement and the design vision that makes the home so unique. The property does not now remotely resemble the residence she moved into."
Astor Street Partners' Donna Lyon told the New York Post that she commissioned photographs of the property for a brochure with the intent of getting it ready to sell, and when she saw the photos, she was shocked.
"They sent me the brochure and I said, ‘This can't be my property,'" Lyon said. "I came to New York to see it and I was horrified by what she had done. The walls that had been hand-painted and glazed were ruined, covered in damask wallpaper and ice-blue paint."
A rep for Love has not yet returned a request for comment. A court date is set for Dec. 21.